In case you haven't noticed, there is an interesting conversation happening on my post from earlier in the week about classroom barricade devices. If you have something informative to add in response to the manufacturers of these products...
Here's the latest on classroom barricade devices...let me know what's happening in your state.
According to the IBC Commentary, the purpose of this requirement is to prevent people from locking themselves in the toilet room to create a safe haven for illicit activities...
This Wordless Wednesday photo could have easily been a Fixed-it Friday photo, but since this "fix" is on an occupied Assembly space, it left me Wordless. Thank you to Dave Ilardi of Allegion for sending me photos from the family vacation. :D
In addition to yesterday's applied panels, which qualified as Fixed-it Friday photos, here are a few more applications from the conference center where I'm spending one more night. If you're in Orlando and saw any Fixed-it Friday doors during your stay, send them along!
Take a close look. There are 2 doors in this opening - one inswinging, one outswinging. Each has 2 surface bolts. The request was to add yet another lock to these doors. Yikes.
I posted these photos (below) yesterday to ask what problems you all saw. Here's what I see...
I am assuming that the airport requested and received the proper code modifications for the pair of doors in the photos below - serving the airport terminal. Anybody know what the required code modifications would be?
In addition to the fact that you're not supposed to disguise egress doors, those hinges are severely under-engineered for those doors. Photos sent in by Dave Ilardi of Allegion.
This Fixed-it Friday solution is ok for a preschool since the average height of the occupants is 26 inches, right? WRONG!
Code question...fake it till you make it?
See any problems here? Thanks to Tim Weller of Allegion for this Wordless Wednesday photo! The fun never ends!
While delayed egress locks must automatically unlock 15 seconds after a building occupant actuates the device, a controlled egress lock allows the egress doors serving certain areas to remain locked until they are unlocked by staff, the automatic fire protection system, or power failure...
This photo was taken in a high school, while school was in session. The doors lead from an enclosed courtyard into the school - the egress path should pass through the interior of the school and out the main exit doors to the public way...
Safety officials are concerned a new state law that allows barricade devices on classroom doors could make a crisis situation worse. The idea sounds great...
I have finished the on-demand version of Class 3 in the Decoded series, so now 3 of the 4 classes are available - for free!
When I receive a question about the NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code requirements for health care facilities, I need to know not just what the code says but how it will be enforced...
I was very surprised at research conducted by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, which found that people trusted a robot to guide them to safety, even when it made mistakes or experienced technical difficulties...
Most stairwells in commercial and institutional buildings are designed to protect the means of egress using fire-resistant construction and fire door assemblies as opening protectives. When building occupants are within a stair enclosure during a fire...
The word "occupied" is not defined in the IBC or the IFC. When a term is not defined in these publications, the "ordinarily accepted meaning" applies, as defined in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary...
Escape rooms are popping up all over the world, and have already opened in many US cities. The premise is that you are locked in a room with friends, family members, coworkers...
This photo was taken at a VERY well-known theme park which does a great job with their door-related code-compliance, and is frequently inspected by the local code officials. The black part of this chain looks like it might be a magnet...
THE VOTES ARE IN, and the code change proposed by BHMA to address classroom locking in the 2018 IBC has been approved as modified by public comment!
What do you think? Does this door meet the intent of NFPA 1 if the security devices are only engaged when the building is not occupied?
It looks like this TV show needs a new quality-control expert with some experience in doors!
John Lozano of Allegion sent me these photos from a recent class on fire door inspection. What problems do you see on this pair of fire doors in a health care facility?
I used to post lots of photos from trips I took with my family, and I'll be doing some more traveling this summer. In the meantime, I'm counting on y'all to send me pics of any interesting doors you see in your travels. Logan Piburn of Dyron Murphy Architects sent me these photos...
I wonder how the designer got away with the design of this exit. From the corridor, it gives the impression of a normal exit door. When you open the door, you can only go either up to the 7th floor or onto the adjacent roof. There is no way to go down to exit the building...
As a member of the door and hardware industry, my focus with regard to classroom lockdown is how to provide security without jeopardizing safety. Lt. Joseph Hendry of the Kent State University Police Department looks at the issue from a slightly different (and valuable) perspective...
This Wordless Wednesday photo was posted on the Truck Floor Training Facebook page, by Ian Vandenberg of Travis County Fire Rescue. I just love the extra-large wood wedges...
"The violations included a window that was screwed shut with three wood screws; an evacuation sign that labeled three exits to the home, even though there were only two; and one of the two exits, leading out to the back, was jammed by a chair that was screwed to the deck..."
If these criteria are met, the fence surrounding the building would not be required to have gates that allow free egress, as the building occupants can gather safely in the enclosed area and wait for emergency responders to arrive...
This Wordless Wednesday photo (from Keith Brown and Steve Bildzok of Allegion) reminds me of how I feel when I walk into my kids' bedrooms. "WHY? What is all of this crap on the floor and why isn't it put away where it belongs? What excuse could you possibly have...
The possible solutions posted by iDH readers included electrified lever trim, electric latch retraction, delayed egress, a direct-hold electromagnetic lock, a networked wireless lock, or an electric strike. My preference would be...
I'm Wordless about today's photo, sent in by Paul Goldense of Goldense Building Products. But on another topic...please help with yesterday's WWYD? post if you can...
I guess this application would work if there wasn't a real need for security, but if someone is able to press the touchpad from outside the gate, they will be able to enter the secure area after waiting 15 seconds. It's a lot of money to spend for security that can be so easily defeated. I'll give them credit for installing the signage though!
This Wordless Wednesday photo from Scott Straton of Allegion requires a bit of explanation. In Scott's words..."My niece was working out at 3:00 AM (she is an avid runner and had an early flight) at a hotel fitness room. When she went to get a drink of water, the lock failed and she was not able to get out..."
I think if I passed this Fixed-it Friday door while visiting this memory care unit my mind would have gone right to the NFPA 101 section that addresses exits disguised by murals in certain types of health care units. Maybe I wouldn't have focused on the actual artwork, but as Gail Erickson of Allegion pointed out when she sent the photo ("I wonder how many times the alarm goes off when they go to get a cup of tea?"), what is depicted in the mural could affect how well the disguise works...
We've been working on a new series of whiteboard animation videos...here is one of my favorites!
I love it when non-hardwarey people send me photos of egress problems or faulty fire doors. Today's Wordless Wednesday photo is from my friend Gia Jobin, who saw this door on a university campus and recognized that there was a problem...
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo was posted on the Truck Floor Training Facebook page by Brandon Stroud, a firefighter from Anderson, South Carolina. I don't know whether to laugh or cry...
This public radio broadcast about egress and the accompanying article from 99% Invisible are both FABULOUS. Some of the old-fashioned inventions for exiting a building remind me of the "new" school safety and fire escape ideas...
This photo from Kristi Dietz of LaForce, Inc. (check out their blog!), is not just your everyday Fixed-it Friday photo. It is one of my favorite Fixed-it Friday photos OF ALL TIME! And no, it's not code-compliant...at least not in any jurisdiction that I know of...
We've all seen this somewhere. Did you say something? Was the problem resolved?
Every December I weed through my inbox so I can start fresh in the new year. I get A LOT of email...my inbox is currently down to only 525 emails waiting for some sort of action on my part. I just found an email that included a link to an article from NFPA Journal...
These photos were shared on the Truck Floor Training page on Facebook, and are posted here with the permission of Chris Morgani of the Fort Myers Beach Fire Department. In addition to the obvious problem, the door is welded shut. Maybe it's not a required exit, or maybe someone made an uneducated decision. We will probably never know...
There are many commenters who feel that while the blocks are a danger to firefighters, they're not a code issue if the building is not occupied. If the pallets are blocking required exits, I think they are a code issue, unless one of you can find something in the International Fire Code that says the means of egress requirements only apply when the building is occupied...
I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving with friends and family!
What is happening in this Fixed-it Friday photo sent to me by Daniel Cannon of Allegion? If the lever has to be turned up instead of down because it's the wrong hand, shouldn't the sign be on the other side of the door? Or...maybe someone could just make it right?
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo, sent to me by Aaron Owens of Allegion, is not an unusual code violation. The location is what leaves me wordless - an NHL hockey arena...
