Law allowing school barricade devices raises concerns in Portage
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...
Decoded 3 – Egress and Life Safety
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!
Keyes Life Safety Boot Camp
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...
WW: Should you trust a robot in an emergency?
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...
Stairwell Reentry
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...
Define: Occupied
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...
WWYD? Escape Room
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...
FF: Egress Deterrent
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...
2018 IBC Change for Classroom Locking
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!
WW: Another Retail Exit
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?
FF: Backwards Doors
It looks like this TV show needs a new quality-control expert with some experience in doors!
WW: Fire Door Inspection
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?
La Parada – Albuquerque, New Mexico
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...
WW: Exit Up or to Roof
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...
Beyond Lockdown
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...
WW: Hangar Exit (or not)
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...
FF: Fire code violations found in Franklin group home
"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..."
Decoded: Safe Dispersal Area Within a Fence or Enclosed Court
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...
WW: Exit? Or No Exit?
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...
Follow-Up – Existing Fire Door, New Access Control
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...
WW: Fireplace Logs
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...
FF: Enter in 15 Seconds
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!
WW: Break Glass to Exit
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..."
FF: Tea Time
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...
Intro to Codes (video)
We've been working on a new series of whiteboard animation videos...here is one of my favorites!
WW: Do Not Lock
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...
FF: Double-L
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...
Good Egress – 99% Invisible
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...
FF: Break Glass
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...
WW: Clearance Sale
We've all seen this somewhere. Did you say something? Was the problem resolved?
NFPA Journal: What Price Security?
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...
WW: Seek Alternate Route
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...
FF: Black Friday
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...
WW: Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving with friends and family!
FF: Wrong Hand?
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?
WW: Classic on Ice
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...
WW: Slippery Slope
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...
FF: Good Luck Getting Out
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...
WW: Double Trouble
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...
FF: To Exit, Enter Current Year
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...
Clear Opening Width for Double-Egress Pairs
This question landed on my desk recently...What is the minimum clear opening width for each leaf of a double-egress pair?
FF: Airport Security
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?
Swimming Pool Access Control
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...
Fatality Related to Roof Door
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...
FF: Garrafones de Agua
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...
WW: Until the Cows Come Home
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...
WWYD? Multiple Crossbars
Today's question...is it code-compliant to have panic hardware along with additional stationary horizontal push-bars?
WW: Skinny Sortie
This is the exit access leading to a 3rd-floor fire escape in a Montreal hotel. I'm Wordless.
FF Follow-Up
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?...
FF: Unequal Leaf Pair
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...