Bronx Zoo
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)!
Delayed Egress Timer
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...
FF: Blocked Exits? Or Not?
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...
FF: Automatic Flush Bolt
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...
Why We Don’t Have to Destroy the Fire Code to Save Lockdown, Lt. Joseph Hendry
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...
FF: Panic Problem? No Problem!
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.
WW: Stair Discharge
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!
Ohio Barricade Bills
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...
School Liability and the Law of Unintended Consequences
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...
FF: Emergency Exit Alarm
What's wrong with this Fixed-it Friday photo, sent in by David Seeley 0f Clark Security Products?
What’s a barricade device, anyway?
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...
Real Openings: Mean Means of Egress
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...
WW: Emergency Exit Only
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...
Ohio Hearing – Security Industry Association
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??
WW: High Security
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...
Minnesota Rationale
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...
Who wants a (FREE) code book??
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.
Fire and Egress Doors in the News
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...
WW: Key-Operated Lock
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? :)
This Week in Baltimore – Code Jeopardy!
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...
Door Security & Safety Foundation on Classroom Safety
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.
WW: Key, Special Knowledge, and Effort
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...
When is a door not a door?
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...
WW: Duct Tape Again
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...
Middlebury College Virtue Field House
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?
Keys to Classroom Security
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.
Exit Signs on Kick Plates
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...
WW: School Security
Why? Because it's easier and less expensive to secure the door when you don't consider codes or safety.
WW: You Must Jump
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.
We need to do this right. – Lt. Joseph A. Hendry Jr. , CLEE
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."
FF: Fire Escape Exit Alarm
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...
WW: Armed Forces Museum
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.
Panic Problem Follow-Up
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...
FF: Panic Problem
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?...
NASFM: Classroom Door Security and Locking Hardware
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...
2015 Edition of the Allegion Code Reference Guide
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...
Ohio decision will have nationwide impact
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.
WW: Special Knowledge and Effort
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...
Decoded: 2015 IBC Roundtable
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.
The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio schools can’t use barricades to keep gunmen out
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?
WW: Frost Heaves
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?
State board rules against classroom door blocking devices
The group ultimately raised over $30,000 and purchased the devices, but were then told that the devices did not comply with egress code requirements and a variance would be needed before the devices could be used. The variance hearing for the barricade devices to be used on the district's high school was held yesterday, and the variance request was denied...
WW: Chained Exit
These photos are the definition of Wordless Wednesday. I saw them posted on the Truck Floor Training Facebook page and asked for permission to share them here...
ALICE does not endorse any brand of barricading devices
When discussing code-compliant security with staff from schools and other types of facilities, I've heard one comment several times..."If ALICE training [the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, our local police department] advocates the barricading of doors with furniture, why can't we use the door barricade devices that are now on the market?"
Decoded: Electrified Hardware Refresher (April 2015)
There are 7 basic code categories for electrified hardware used to control access or egress, and this edition of Decoded provides a brief refresher on each as well as some recent code changes. Many of these code applications, but not all, fall into the category commonly called “special locking arrangements.”
WW: Surviving an Active Shooter
This PSA was recently released by the LA County Sheriff's Department. It is a very graphic representation of how to survive an active shooter situation. It is obviously not acceptable for use with kids, but it does show a classroom security lock used by a teacher, as well as a locked exit blocking the escape of a victim...
Baby It’s Cold Outside – Phil Chandler
We've received close to 4 feet of snow in the last week, so when I saw The Inspector's column in this month's e-NewZone monthly newsletter from The Center for Campus Fire Safety, I asked them if I could share it here...
FF: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
I really love this restaurant, but every time I go I wonder if someone approved this egress arrangement or it just sorta happened as they were hanging the drapes...
WW: Don’t Dowel Doors
Paul Elliott sent me these Wordless Wednesday photos of retail egress issues he has run across. When he mentioned the dowel to a store employee, the employee said, "No problem. We’ll untie it if there’s a fire." No joke.
“Buyer Beware” – Paul Timm, RETA Security
Paul Timm: "For those pursuing alternative solutions, it is important to consider that some schools have installed after-market devices only to find out that code violations require their removal. Buyer beware!"