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...
The time has finally come for me to clear out my office in preparation for 3 new specwriter apprentices to join the New England SSC. I have been working from my home office for years and will be temporarily relocating (more on that later), so today is the day I clean house.
A fire door is being credited with keeping flames contained at a Sturgis manufacturing building...Three people were found unconscious in a stairwell filled with smoke...As Fire Chief Drake put it, the simple act of closing the door can save the lives and contents behind it...
The IBC allows key-operated locks in some locations - do you think this lock is compliant with the language below if the required signage is included? And for extra credit, who knows what kind of lock this is? :)
Wednesday, 2:00-4:30 p.m. and Thursday, 9:45 a.m.-12:20 p.m. I'll be in Room 337 teaching Code Jeopardy! Each session is 45 minutes long and there are 2 different sessions with completely different questions...
The Door Security & Safety Foundation recently published their position on school safety and classroom barricade devices. I have added this link to the Schools tab above.
2015 IBC: 1010.1.9 Door operations. Except as specifically permitted by this section, egress doors shall be readily openable from the egress side without the use of a key or special knowledge or effort...
A couple of months ago I wrote a post about murals in health care occupancies and a change to the 2015 edition of NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code. I just read an article in Australian Ageing Agenda about the practice of disguising doors in memory care units, and how this affects the patients...
I can't believe how many photos of duct-taped doors I have posted (here are a few: 1, 2, 3)! Debbie White of Allegion sent me this one. Wow...
In a post last week I shared a photo from John Gant of Allegion, showing a bank of doors with a floor-proximity illuminated exit sign. After reading some comments discussing whether the second set of doors was visible enough, John thought we might like to see a larger view of these doors. What do you think?
This is a shorter version of my article Barricade Device? Think Twice! that can be used in newsletters if the original article is too long. Please leave a comment below if you submit either article for publication, including the name of the publication and the approximate date.
John Gant of Allegion sent me a very interesting question this morning (well, it was interesting to me anyway!). This photo was taken at a new athletic center in Vermont. The kick plates have luminous "EXIT" signage on them, and John was told that this was a code requirement...
Why? Because it's easier and less expensive to secure the door when you don't consider codes or safety.
I received today's Wordless Wednesday photo from both Don Funsch of Commercial Mill and Builders Supply and Chuck Park of Fire Door Inspection Service. Be forewarned. Don't exit unless you're willing to be run over.
Lt. Joseph A. Hendry Jr. , CLEE - "As I'm reading the open source material on the German plane crash, I keep returning to one thought: Someone developed a fail safe way to keep people out of the cockpit, without adequately thinking about what would happen if the threat was already in the cockpit."
This photo may be one of my favorite Fixed-it Friday photos ever. It was sent to me by Michael Carney of Allegion. This application is in place on the roof door and all of the fire escape access doors in a dormitory high-rise. A very creative way to install an exit alarm, but I don't know how secure or how durable it is...
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo was sent to me by Lee Francisco and Jerry Rice of DH Pace. The "Remove for Exit" bar makes this exit non-compliant.
Many of you figured out right away that someone has taken fire exit hardware designed for a 3-foot-wide door and installed it on a 4-foot-wide door. The original mechanism tube has been replaced with one from a 4-foot device, and a filler plate fills the area where the wider touchpad should be...
Today's Fixed-it Friday photo was sent in by Rick Turcotte of Horner Commercial Sales. A few questions for you: a) This is a 4'-wide stairwell door. What's wrong with this picture?...
The National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) has posted a document on their website which offers that support, by providing guidance on the use of classroom door security and locking hardware. The 6-page document includes a suggested classroom door checklist, with code references for each item on the list...
As most of you know, the code development cycle is typically 3 years, which means that the codes are constantly evolving. The 2015 editions of the International Building Code (IBC) and NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code were recently released, and I have revised the Allegion Code Reference Guide to include these changes...
If you don't think the Ohio barricade situation applies to you because you don't live in Ohio, or because you don't do school-related work, think again. Please read the article below. It is crucial for us to spread the word about a balanced approach to school security.
Most egress doors are required to be readily openable with no special knowledge or effort. The door must unlatch with one operation, and the operable hardware must be mounted between 34 inches and 48 inches above the floor. There are several problems with this Wordless Wednesday dutch door found at a cell phone store...
If you are a member of the New England Chapter of DHI I hope you already know about this upcoming class, but in case you didn't get the memo...I will be teaching a code class next week along with Jeff Batick, Greg DeGirolamo, Paul Goldense, and Jim White. This class will be available for other DHI chapters to teach, as long as there are a few members who can act as facilitators. If you're interested in hosting the class, drop me an email and I'll get you in touch with the right person at DHI. We are using the 2015 IBC for next week's class, but it could be taught using other editions of the IBC if necessary. The class is worth 9 DHI CEP points, with 4 additional points for the facilitators.
Will lawmakers uphold the codes that have been protecting us for decades, or will they change state laws to satisfy the parents and teachers who are pushing for a change that would sacrifice free egress in favor of inexpensive locking methods?
In the Wordless Wednesday photos below, one door is stuck partially open and the other pair has been taken out of commission. How do you balance the life safety requirements with the feasibility of addressing problems that will probably last for several more weeks if not longer?
