There are some AHJs who allow security measures that are not compliant for egress if they're only used "after hours." I always say that this is a slippery slope, because once the device is installed, there's no guarantee that anyone will remember that the door is supposed to be unlocked during business hours...
Some Fixed-it Friday photos result in mixed emotions - sadness that people resort to these methods, excitement that I have something to share with you that will make you shake your head, concern that the creative application could cause harm. Like these photos from Leo Lebovits of M&D Door & Hardware, taken at a public swimming pool...
These Wordless Wednesday photos are from Erich Friend of Teqniqal Systems. According to Erich, the first photo is the initial egress door out of the auditorium. If you make it past the lab table, you encounter the trash can and piano stored in front of the exit discharge. No words...
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo was found on Imgur, so I don't know where it originated. It shows the creative use of an access control keypad to control egress. If this application was used in a memory care facility, it would be code-compliant if a delayed egress system or controlled egress system was used...
This question landed on my desk recently...What is the minimum clear opening width for each leaf of a double-egress pair?
According to the facility, the doors are no longer required as an exit, but if that's the case, why not just lock them up, add some signage ("Not an Exit"), remove the exit sign, and make it look less like a Fixed-it Friday contender?
I know that much of the US is beyond swimming pool season, but this question just came up again so I'll leave it right here for you to find when you need it...
A 91-year-old man with dementia has died after wandering onto the roof of the housing authority apartment building where he lived in Batavia, New York. News reports are citing an unlocked door leading to the roof - it may have locked after the man passed through it...
I saw this door as I was walking down the street an hour ago. It's your run-of-the-mill trash-can hold-open, with an added security layer consisting of a stack of giant bottles of water (we call them garrafones) inside...
John Lozano from Allegion sent me this photo he took at a festival in Wisconsin...I've seen worse at the state fair, but this exit is a little sketchy...
Today's question...is it code-compliant to have panic hardware along with additional stationary horizontal push-bars?
This is the exit access leading to a 3rd-floor fire escape in a Montreal hotel. I'm Wordless.
Last week's Fixed-it Friday photo has raised some questions about the best way to handle an unequal pair...a) Do both leaves of a pair require panic hardware?...
This is not how I would have specified the hardware for this unequal leaf pair. I think the panic hardware on the small leaf actually results in an opening that is less safe, because the removable mullion makes the small leaf difficult or impossible to use...
Austin Baumann of Central Indiana Hardware sent me this photo of the emergency exit in a mirror maze. This would be considered a special amusement building - I wrote about some of the requirements for those occupancies here. I have often seen means of egress modifications...
It's been a really long time since I posted a collection of reader photos because I've been using a lot of these submissions for Wordless Wednesday and Fixed-it Friday. Here are some of the reader photos that have been patiently waiting in my inbox...
We still do almost all of our shopping in the small tiendas and larger mercados, but last weekend I saw this door at la bodega. At first glance I saw the sign and thought it had a delayed egress lock...
Chris Ostwinkle from DH Pace sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo. The bar above the panic limits the degree of opening, which may have contributed to the closer issues. And in case you missed it...that's a double-cylinder deadbolt above the panic, in addition to the slide bolt. :(
This is the rear exit of a liquor store. Although the store was closed when this photo was taken, on the other side of the door there is an exit sign, panic hardware, a surface bolt, and a padlock. This type of retrofit is common when additional security is needed, but it is NOT code-compliant...
Ohio BBS Guidance Document: "Schools are being cautioned against purchasing and deploying devices before the rules take effect as some devices currently on the market may not be allowable once new rules are adopted."
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo came from the New York Daily News. The full article about the high-end furniture store being cited by OSHA for blocked egress routes and propped open fire doors can be read here...
Seriously...this Wordless Wednesday photo makes me want to cry. Posted with the permission of Ron Burgess Jr. of the Westport Fire Department (originally posted on the Truck Floor Training Facebook page).
The door in these Wordless Wednesday photos has 7 surface bolts, an exit alarm, a door position switch, AND a rolling door. Wow.
Delayed egress vs. controlled egress...can you explain the difference? Do you know when and where each type of locking hardware is allowed, and what the IBC requires in order to ensure life safety?
What I want to know is...why do some people think it's ok to use these locks after-hours, when the building is unoccupied? I don't see anything in the codes to support that, but it seems to be a common belief. Am I missing something?
I am often asked whether it is code-compliant to install a separate deadbolt with a latchset or lockset on a dwelling unit entry door in an assisted living facility. Most doors in a means of egress are required to unlatch with one operation for egress. While there is an exception...
I've shared several news stories about high school students designing barricade devices (here's one, here's another), but now the Air Force Research Lab has joined the effort. Sadly, this "innovation" probably won't stop until a tragedy occurs...
I've written quite a few specifications for museum projects and although many architects have asked me for "invisible doors," I do my best to talk them out of it. These are two different museums, in two different states, but these Wordless Wednesday photos were both sent to me the same week by two different people...
Here's the latest in our series of whiteboard animation videos explaining door-related topics. This one covers various options for securing classroom doors, in alignment with the guidelines from the National Association of State Fire Marshals. Enjoy and share!
These photos from an Alabama day care center make me nauseous. Literally. I'm Wordless.
I recently went on a field trip to an elementary school with Greg Thomson (Allegion specwriter) and a group of our specwriter apprentices, and we saw a couple of interesting applications in the courtyard. The courtyard is fully enclosed so a means of egress is required at each end...
I've seen a lot of funky egress route restrictions in airports, but this was a first...
Some of you might be thinking..."Doors can't be disguised like that!" but this mural is on the access or ingress side of the door, not the egress side. The model codes require means of egress doors to be readily distinguishable and easily recognizable as doors, but this requirement is typically applied to the egress side of the door...
I often find that I am more cautious about modifying code requirements than even the AHJ. This opening is serving an Assembly occupancy, where delayed egress is not allowed by the IBC. In addition, the AHJ approved the 30-second delay instead of 15 seconds...
As promised in Monday's post, here are some of the doors we saw during our visit to the Bronx Zoo. Keep your camera ready during your summer vacation and send me some photos of interesting doors that you see (please)!
I checked with the ICC and NFPA for a code opinion, and both staff members acknowledged that the code does not address this specific issue, so it would be left up to the AHJ. One made a good point - the time to initiate the timer and the time to release the device should be two separate periods...
The first response might be - there's no exit sign, so no problem, right? Wrong! While I can't say for sure that these particular doors are egress doors, using the presence of exit signs to determine whether the door is in a required means of egress is not a reliable plan. If a door has an exit sign, it needs to meet the egress requirements. And even if it doesn't have an exit sign...
Jenny Pauley of Kendell Doors sent me this Fixed-it Friday photo of a non-code-compliant repair that was made because the top corner of the fire door split. This is pretty common when corner-wrap flush bolts are used, because of the amount of wood that is removed...
You may remember a guest blog post from Lieutenant Joseph Hendry, who is with the Kent State University Police Department and the ALICE Training Institute. Lt. Hendry has an article in this month's Campus Safety Journal, on the challenges created by using barricade devices for classroom lockdown. Here's my favorite part...
This could definitely be a Wordless Wednesday photo, but I couldn't wait to share it so here's an excellent (terrible) Fixed-it Friday photo from Rachel Smith of Karpen Steel. Unbelievable.
I don't know why it still surprises me when I see blocked exits, but the good news is we'll probably never run out of photos for Wordless Wednesday. Don't forget to send me photos of what you see during your summer vacation!
If you live and/or work in Ohio, it is not too late to talk to the state legislators in your district(s). If you call their offices, you may be able to talk to them directly or get an email address. The Door Security and Safety Foundation has compiled some information that might be helpful to send along with your concerns...
MANY people have asked me about the potential for liability if a school chooses to secure their classroom doors using a barricade device that inhibits or deters egress. Could a school be held liable? I didn't know the answer, so we enlisted the help of an attorney to help us understand the considerations...
What's wrong with this Fixed-it Friday photo, sent in by David Seeley 0f Clark Security Products?
As I have been preparing for tomorrow's public hearing in Ohio along with members of the door and hardware industry, code officials, and others interested in the classroom barricade issue, I came to a realization: some of the people involved in this debate are not familiar with how barricade devices work...
Who would have thought the readers of Doors & Hardware magazine would embrace a monthly column on the code requirements for door openings, let alone TWO monthly (or almost-monthly) columns on the topic? My friend Mark Berger of Securitech Group has given me permission to share his June column here. I don't know how he finds these openings...
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo came from RB Sontag of Allegion. This is a roof door (which really shouldn't be an emergency exit anyway) and I can't imagine how secure a chain wrapped around the lever would be, but if the exit is to be taken out of service they should talk to the fire marshal and change the signage...
I could use your help with my testimony for the upcoming hearing. If you were sitting in the hot seat in front of the Board, what would you say??
I was going to post this for Fixed-it Friday, but when I noticed the manual flush bolt installed in the face of each door, I became Wordless. This exit is serving a theater. Thank you to Dean Benson of Northern Door for the photo...
This document does not technically apply to facilities located outside of Minnesota, but this reasonable insight from authorities with decades of fire safety experience can not be ignored. To me, this rationale was particularly powerful given the fact that Minnesota is the location of the 2005 school shooting at Red Lake High School, where a 16-year-0ld killed 7 people and wounded 5 others. Although the classroom doors were locked...
