WW: Huh?
What is this exit sign in a convention center trying to tell us? Which way is the exit? I'd love to hear your theories, because I don't have any.
NFPA Journal – Learn Something New: Special Amusement Buildings
This post links to valuable information from NFPA about life safety requirements for escape rooms and other special amusement buildings, along with proposed code changes.
FF: Italy Finale
Yesterday I posted a Fixed-it Friday photo even though it was Thursday, but don't worry! I saved up some FF photos during my trip to Italy, and I'm sharing them all today!
WW: Function Fix
Check out this Wordless Wednesday application from our hotel in Milan. This could end badly if there is ever a fire within this area which has a handful of hotel rooms.
Top 10 – Decoded: Calculating the Occupant Load
The most popular post on iDigHardware in the last 10 years is an article that isn't even about doors or hardware. That may be the reason for it's popularity.
Allegion Code Reference Guide
The day has finally arrived. The updated Allegion Code Reference Guide is ready - 40 pages of code information that you can download for free!
WW: Temporary Locking Devices
Do you see what I see? THIS is why temporary locking devices should not be approved for doors serving a means of egress. They often become permanent locking devices!
Classroom Lockdown Modification
Will this screen door latch keep out a school shooter? Or maybe two would be sufficient? Hopefully we'll never have to find out.
FF: Lift Bar to Exit
This is an egress door serving a stadium. Someone "fixed-it" from a security standpoint, but what about egress? This requires a key AND special knowledge and effort!
WWYD? Is a 15-second delay too long?
Should the model codes be modified to require immediate egress through doors with delayed egress locks during emergencies other than fires?
Decoded: Update on Roof Doors
A change to the 2018 edition of the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Fire Code (IFC) helps to establish the intent of these codes with regard to roof doors.
FF: Panic Privacy
This door - yes, with panic hardware - is on a restroom in Italy. The non-code-compliant hook modification solves the privacy problem. :|
FF: Just wrench it open.
Got any old locksets, deadbolts, panic hardware or electrified hardware laying around? It would be a great help for firefighter training! Oh - and it's also Fixed-it Friday!
WW: Push Button to Exit
Warning: Today's Wordless Wednesday post is not wordless. Check out the video and scroll down for the words.
Colorado State Capitol Building – Denver
Have you visited your state capitol building to check out the doors and hardware? I'm adding locations to my bucket list!
UNCC ‘One-Button’ Lockdown
When a shooting occurred at the University of North Carolina Charlotte last week, an electronic locking system was already in place that allowed the campus to be locked down in seconds.
ABC15: Hundreds of padlocks installed on prison cell doors
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this news story from ABC 15 in Arizona, about the fire and safety concerns associated with installing padlocks on prison cell doors.
Kitsap Sun: Lawsuit alleges Bremerton teacher confined alone in classroom with violent student
It's only a matter of time before we see the unintended consequences of non-code-compliant, untested, unregulated security devices.
FF: Why is this unacceptable?
I received this photo from Audrey Weiser of DHI - she was looking for some code language that would clearly state that this application is not allowed. Unfortunately, there isn't anything specific (that I can think of) in the model codes.
WW: Convenient Storage Space
Yes, this is supposed to lead to an exit - an exterior stair from the second floor of a function space. #wordless
Barricade Devices – Three Perspectives
These 3 perspectives showed up in my Google Alerts today - a school district using barricade devices, a man working in a school who wanted to use barricading when he committed a shooting, and the legal perspective. Powerful.
WW: Wordless…
Jeff Rapp of Wilkus Architects sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photos. I hope whatever this facility is trying to protect is worth the risk. :(
New York in the News
These news stories both happen to be from New York City, and both address topics that made me go hmmm... What do you think?
WW: Let’s Book!
I have had requests for help specifying doors like this, but not on a marked exit! This door is serving a business occupancy. What do you think - OK, or NO WAY?
AP News: ‘It doesn’t open’
Fifty people died in the shootings at the two mosques in Christchurch. How many could have survived if the egress door had allowed immediate evacuation?
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Tragedy
This week marks the anniversary of a tragic fire that heavily impacted life safety codes and requirements for worker safety. It's important to understand these tragedies, to avoid repeating them.
Decoded: Why Barricade Devices? (May 2019)
Why would a school district consider using unregulated security devices, given the associated risk and liability? The answer may surprise you.
WW: Please use other door.
When my coworker mentioned this door to two different employees, they said they have brought it up with the manager, but the decision was "above their pay grade"...
Wicked Local: School’s Locks Violate Codes
A news report hit my inbox a few days ago, which discussed a security situation in a Massachusetts elementary school; some classroom barricade devices had been installed in 2014...
FF: Hard-Wired Exit
Take a look at these egress doors serving a large arena. The struggle for security is real, but we can't forget about life-safety in the process!
WW: Solve for Tomorrow Competition
I love the idea of putting our heads together to search for solutions, but inventors need to consider authorized access, free egress, and accessibility, in addition to security.
WW: Trampoline Park
I get it. The trampoline park needs to keep kids from eloping. What would you propose as a solution?
Locksmith Ledger: Electromagnetic Locks – 7 Applications and the Codes That Apply
How do you choose which code section to use?
WW: Ladder Lock
Sometimes when Wordless Wednesday rolls around, I really am Wordless. Today is one of those Wordless Wednesdays.
WW: Rocky Mountain Mercantile
The horizontal bars on this "emergency exit" are padlocked to hasps welded to the door - likely to prevent theft - AND EGRESS!
WWYD? Deadbolt + Mag-Lock
Is it code-compliant to add a deadbolt to a door with a mag-lock, that can be used to lock the door during a power failure?
WW: Wordless
I have spent two days trying to figure out what to write in this post. I'm still thinking.
FF: Southeast Asia Airport
A knob, lever, AND a mag-lock? And what's with the stainless plates? Are they covering old vision lights or do you think they were "original equipment"?
QQ: Monitored or Recorded Egress
Quick Question: Is it code-compliant for a card reader on the egress side of the door to be used to monitor who uses the door?
WW: Delayed Egress Retrofit
Joe Fazio of Precision Doors & Hardware sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo. I don't know what to say. How about you?
NFPA 3000 Webinar – Archived Recording
One part of this webinar that got my attention was the EMS perspective on how a delay in accessing the classroom could affect the medical outcome. The archived webinar is linked in this post.
WWYD? Classroom Exit Alarm
I really need your expertise on this one...talk to me about exit alarms to deter the use of classroom doors, or to at least notify the teacher that someone has opened the door.
WW: Classroom Egress
Andrew Harris of Willis Klein sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo, and it's disheartening. This is the exterior door of a middle school classroom with one or more students who have special needs.
Escape Room Tragedy
When we think about code-compliance, it's not just about lines on a page in a book. It's about reducing the risk of tragedies like this one.
WW: Fire Hose Security, Revisited
As I've said before...as a last resort anything goes, but THIS SHOULD NOT BE PLAN A! Do you agree or disagree?
FF: Fight Your Way Out
This Fixed-it Friday photo is of an egress door serving a martial arts studio. It's a good thing the students have special skills they can use in an emergency.
WW: What’s Wrong?
Eric Laidlaw of Jensen Hughes sent me these Wordless Wednesday photos...I'd love to hear your theories/analyses of what's going on with this opening.
FF: Sobriety Test
So many people sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo from Reddit (thanks to all!) that I knew the rest of you would want to see it too. BTW...this is clever, but not code-compliant!
WW: Door is Broken
The sad thing about situations like this is that they often stay as-is for YEARS. In this particular case, the sign appears to be laminated or in a plastic sheet protector.
FF: Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
For everyone who has asked, I'm feeling quite a bit better - thanks! The cough is still lingering a bit, but hopefully it will clear up before I head to Carmel next week.