Paul Timm, from the independent school security consulting firm, Reta Security, appears on the PBS special The Path to Violence, which premiers tomorrow night (Wednesday, February 20th). Check your local listings to find out when to watch.
I can't believe it has been 10 years since the morning I woke up, turned on the TV, and saw the aftermath of the deadly fire that killed 100 people and injured 200 others at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The recent news story below shocks me but it also underscores the fact that although we react when tragedy strikes, we often let our guard down as time goes on. We have to remain vigilant or history will repeat itself again and again.
On a weekend trip to Family Science Day, I saw these super-tall doors at the convention center:
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
On the right of the photo is the jamb, on the left is the face of the door.
In the months since the tragedy at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, there have been renewed efforts on the part of many schools to improve their security and better protect students, staff, and visitors. While I'm very glad to see the focus on these improvements, I'm also very concerned about some well-meaning but misguided efforts that I've come across. This post is not meant as an attack on any particular product or idea, but a reminder that as we secure these facilities, we must not forget about the other codes affecting the same doors that are being addressed.
I'm back in the snowy north, hunkered down while the snow piles up. This is my last post from my trip to Tampa. For next week I'm working on another post about glass (yes, there's more!), as well as a post about school security - particularly the "creative" and often non-code-compliant methods I've seen a lot of lately. If you've run into any interesting security modifications for schools, send them along! Have a great weekend all!
The Tampa Bay Hotel (although no longer a hotel) is an amazing building, especially once you hear about its history. If you've got 15 minutes, check out this video:
This is a travel week for me - I'm in Tampa, Florida for the winter meeting of the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA - check out their new website!). I have more posts in the works on school security and wired glass, but while I'm on the road, you know that I like to share the cool doors that I see with all of you. I'll get back to the code-related posts next week.
This post was printed in the February 2013 issue of Doors & Hardware
Photo: Johnathan D Anderson
The jagged edges and shards formed by broken wired glass create hauntingly beautiful images, but may also leave life-long scars. All of these images are published with permission from the artists. Please do not duplicate them.
In a previous post, I talked about where safety glazing is required, but what IS safety glazing? More from the 2009 IBC:
A couple of weeks ago I started a series of blog posts about the hazards of traditional wired glass. I showed you some examples of traditional wired glass installed where it shouldn't be, and linked to some news reports which described incidents involving traditional wired glass. In case those didn't convince you that we have a problem, here are a couple more:
I woke up this morning to yet another nightclub tragedy - this time in Santa Maria, Brazil. This fire shared common issues with many of the past nightclub fires - a high occupant load, ignition of flammable foam or decorations, no working sprinklers, insufficient or unmarked exits, and a heartbreakingly-high loss of life. The death toll currently stands at 233. I can't help but imagine the bodies of the young people lined up in the make-shift morgue, with their cell phones ringing and ringing as their friends and family search for them.
I love hardware ingenuity, especially when it's code-driven. I've spent this week in Orlando with 500+ of my coworkers, and although we haven't had a whole lot of time to hang out by the pool, I had to go check out an application that was spotted by one of our specwriters - Matt Wildman.
This amazing lock is not related to the Bok Tower, but was created by Samuel Yellin.
On my way back from Bradenton to Orlando, I had to stop and see the gorgeous door at the Bok Tower Gardens. The gardens have to be one of the most beautiful and tranquil places I've visited...luckily I was there early, before the families started arriving or it may have been less tranquil. The 50-acre garden was established in 1929, by Edward W. Bok as a gift to the American people, and was designed by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead Jr.
Sorry for the interruption in my series on wired glass - I will continue it shortly. But this is a travel week for me, and I couldn't fly to sunny Florida without a quick trip to see my mom. Today I dragged her to an architectural salvage company to see if they had any interesting old doors and hardware. They had A LOT of doors - some really ornate and huge, and a room full of hardware...
This is the second post in a series about the hazards of traditional wired glass (read the first post here).
I apologize for the delay in posting...there were some problems on the server side. Thanks for your patience!
First, I need some help. I've seen photos of this application a few times (including this one from Jim Jensen of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies), but what do you use to attach the two closers together? Is it something that has to be custom made, or is there a standard part that can be repurposed for the job?
A few weeks ago, Ingersoll Rand announced plans to spin off the combined commercial and residential security businesses into a new standalone publicly held company. I immediately started getting calls and emails from blog readers asking what this meant to me and to our other employees, the brands, and this website. One hardware distributor said, “I can’t imagine the hardware business without Schlage, LCN, and Von Duprin in it!” I was very touched by the concern for our people and products.
This is a tough one. It's for a project currently nearing occupancy, so I would love any comments or thoughts you have on a solution. An automatic operator is required because of maneuvering clearance / level landing issues. The gate is already in place. A low energy operator is preferred. The gate is exposed to the weather. Any ideas? If you need more information, ask away!
I think this is the longest I've gone without posting! I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve! I figured I could get some good relaxation time in during the holiday week, then I promptly injured a ligament in my ankle, which led to a major bout of sciatica that flattened me for days. I'm hoping 2013 gets better!
Some of you will no-doubt recognize these doors if you attend a certain monthly meeting that I attend as often as I can. The meeting is held in one of several large banquet rooms in a restaurant, and they all have the same hardware installed. If anyone is NOT sure why this is a problem, read this post.
I'm pretty sure I asked for a PAIR of boots for Christmas, but Santa must have misunderstood. I ended up with one walking boot after falling off of running fountain while trying to take the perfect photo of a door for y'all. OK...actually I stepped off a little lip in a walkway while checking into our hotel in the dark and did some ligament damage. We won't know the extent of the damage until the swelling goes down. BUT - I did get a photo.
I have been struggling with this post. I can't answer the question the world wants an answer to -
For the last 8 years, I have coordinated a holiday gift drive along with my coworkers, family, and friends for the residents of our local family shelter and other families in need. This year we provided gifts for 75 kids and parents! When I went to the shelter with a load to drop off, I saw the sign below. I asked the director if they had a close call and she said, with a very grave look in her eyes, "more than one."
Yesterday's mall shootings in Oregon should serve as a reminder to be aware of the available exits regardless of where you are. This door could be tough to navigate in an emergency.
I recently compiled my family's annual photo book, and I found A TON of door photos in the process. Here are a few doors I've seen in my travels...
This photo, taken at an Ontario Hospital, was sent by Kelly Chimilar of Allmar. I'm confused.
I have LOTS of reader photos that I haven't had a chance to edit and post, so here's the first batch! Thank you for sending them, and keep them coming! I'll try to work faster in 2013!
I know I just posted some news stories a few days ago, but Zeke Wolfskehl sent another one that I have to share. It appeared in the New York Times on November 27th. Considering how difficult it is to make people understand the value of their fire doors and why they should be kept in working order, I think this article does a great job of illustrating the importance.
I can't figure out whether these are providing security or acting as the door closers, but either way they leave me wordless!
Bangladesh fire: Exit door locked - News 24
I just returned from a trip to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Grassy Cove, Tennessee. If you're a long-time reader of IDH, you may remember when I visited them way back in 2009 for the Chip Falcon Road Trip (my brother did the cycle testing).
I'm spending most of this week in Tennessee, and yesterday I went out to the local supermarket for a few more Thanksgiving dinner supplies. This door caught my eye...
I'm on a road trip with my family this week to go visiting for Thanksgiving, and yesterday we stopped in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I can sniff out a beautiful or unusual door from a mile away, but I didn't expect to find such a plethora of different beautiful doors on the same building.
Yes, this is a fire door, and yes, the bollard is permanently bolted in place.
I haven't been able to find an answer to this one!
Although the schools in Providence, Rhode Island, are supposed to be inspected by code officials annually, some had not been inspected for 10 YEARS. I wonder how many public schools are in the same boat?
This week I've been spending some time with Karina Guadencio, an Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies specwriter from Brazil. In addition to lots of discussion in the office, we've been to a Boston Chapter CSI meeting, had lunch with the master specwriting team at Kalin Associates, conducted a punch list at Harvard Law School, and visited Columbus Door (thanks everyone!). It's been a whirlwind tour! Add the cold and last night's snow, and I think she's ready to head south (especially since she's having dinner with my family tonight! :D).
I'm not going to post the name of the person who sent these photos in, because I contacted the restaurant and I don't want them to see his name here and seek revenge the next time he places an order. I got no response after sending two emails...I wonder if the fire marshal eats here.
I've stayed at several hotels lately that had a sliding door on the bathroom within the hotel room. This solves some coordination issues involving the door swing and the method of stopping the door, but creates questions of its own. What type of sliding door hardware do you prefer for a solid core sliding door? And what type of latch do you use for privacy?
I'm getting ready to head home from Arc-US in San Diego (which has been a fabulous conference!), and wondering how long it will be before someone tweets a photo of me singing on stage with the Dueling Pianomen. Until then, here's some signage the likes of which I've never seen before. I'm in favor of signage to prevent door abuse. Save the doors!
I recently visited a facility where security is their top priority. Many of the doors are set to sound an alarm if they are left open for more than 6 seconds. This presents a challenge when carts are being moved through the opening, because the doors need to stay open long enough for the carts, but need to close before the 6-second mark. There are 10,000 employees on-site during a typical day, and leaving a door unsecure / not locked or latched can result in termination of their jobs. Many of the doors are fire doors, which adds some extra complexity to the issue. Almost all of the doors have access-control.
This is becoming a recurring theme. I'll be in a few airports later this week...maybe I'll see some more.
This post was printed in the January 2013 issue of Doors & Hardware
