Cory Yamaguchi of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sent me this photo of an egress door he saw on an outing to the local dairy farm with his family. I'm picturing a farm that hosts lots of visitors, not the type where the cow:human ratio is 100:1. In addition to the creative application of pull handles, there are loops up at the top (one looks like it's missing) if they need a little extra security. If you're just tuning in, this is not code-compliant.
Thank you to everyone who has sent me photos of doors they've seen in their travels (or while laying on the couch). Kelly Chimilar from Allmar Inc. noticed these doors with an obvious egress problem while watching Thursday Night Football. If you don't know what the problem is, I will hold a special online study session for you after work tonight. ;)
Assuming this is the back door of a restaurant, what's wrong with these pictures sent in by Eric Miles of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies (other than the fact that the door is filthy!)?
It's one of my favorite times of the year..."Back to School!", and school security is all over the news. How do we keep our kids safe at school?
Georgia school shooting: A hero emerges - Christian Science Monitor
As I mentioned a few days ago, I'm in Mexico taking in all of the lovely doors of San Miguel de Allende. I haven't seen much evidence of building / life safety codes, but we did go to a popular museum in Guanajuato and I saw this exit stair...I guess you could call it a form of delayed egress.
This post was printed in the October 2013 issue of Doors & Hardware
This article was printed in the July 2013 issue of Doors & Hardware
Tim Kaye of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sent me this photo of a required egress door in a school, which truly left me wordless. :(
I've received lots of photos lately that illustrated problems with how products were specified, supplied, or installed. So let's play...what's wrong with this picture???
Andy Lindenberg of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sent me this one. I'm a little confused. Should I use this door in an emergency, or not?
Time to clean out the inbox! Here's the first batch:
Here are a few articles that have crossed my desk recently (and some not-so-recently but I'm cleaning house). If you find an article that you'd like to share, send it along!
Several questions have come up lately regarding the door and hardware requirements for science labs in schools. When a short article about a chemical fire in a lab storage cabinet came across my desk, I decided to do a little digging. I found that fires in school science labs are not uncommon, in fact, the number of injuries to students has grown - in part because of changing educational requirements which advocate more hands-on science instruction. In the event of a lab fire, building code requirements can help to limit the damage to the lab and prevent the fire and smoke from spreading.
I was just looking for a particular discussion on the Building Code Forum, and I ran across this photo which I forgot to post. I was probably saving it for the WW before Thanksgiving. :) The fire inspector had been called back to reinspect this exit, which was missing the panic hardware.
I answer A LOT of questions every day, and I love doing it. I'm so glad to be able to provide this resource for our staff and customers, and anyone else who comes across my site. But sometimes I get questions that I don't have a good answer for, and that's where you come in. Please leave a comment if you have any insight on ANY of these questions...
I'm in Denver for the AIA conference, and this afternoon I played a rousing game of Code Jeopardy with the Denver Chapter of DHI. If you're at the AIA conference this week, stop at our booth (#530) to play a short version of Code Jeopardy and your name will be entered to win an iPad Mini! You can enter whether you get the questions right or not, and you'll probably learn something about a new code requirement in the process.
This opening is secured by power bolts, which are released via the wall switch. The panic hardware is just for show...there's no way for the devices to latch without a mullion. :(
I've compiled some of the code resources I currently use, in hopes that some of them might be helpful to you. If there are other websites that you visit for code information, please leave a comment and I'll add them to the list.
Here are some more photos from my weekend in NYC...these are all about taking a closer look.
Fire in China poultry plant kills more than 100 people - Al Jazeera (vide0)
This photo is from one of the fine establishments we visited in NYC. You can tell it's *fine* because of the champagne buckets.
Over the weekend I spent some time in New York with my friends, and as you can probably imagine I saw A LOT of doors of interest. Here are some of them...
I have read this first article several times and asked my codey friends for their thoughts. None of us could come up with any national building code requirement for a closer on a non-fire-rated exterior door. But then again...I try to avoid arguing with a building official. What say you?
OK...who knows what's wrong with the door in this photo, sent in by Jeff Tock of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies?
I know it's not Wordless Wednesday, but this photo from Alec Walsh of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies definitely left me wordless!
Yes, I know it's Thursday, but this just arrived in my email box and I have to share.
Vincent Chestnut of Alpha Locksmith spotted this problem on a visit to a local public safety building. Not only does the door require two motions to unlatch, the thumbturn on the combination lock doesn't look like it would be considered accessible.
Theodore Firedoor...my hero! And I'm going to start using the word "dodgy" whenever possible. :D
I couldn't wait until another Wordless Wednesday rolled around to post this one.
This post did start out as a Wordless Wednesday post but I got a little carried away.
Last month I wrote about the first episode of The Station Movie, a video series posted online in segments about the Station Nightclub fire that occurred 10 years ago and took the lives of 100 people and injured more than 200 others. The pain of the survivors is a reminder of why we need to continue to be vigilant about code requirements, including those pertaining to egress and fire protection. Here are the next 3 episodes:
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo was submitted by Joy Davis of the Construction Specifications Institute (@CSIConstruction on Twitter). Thanks Joy!
My husband has grown accustomed to me yelling, "Stop the car!" when I see a door of interest. We actually had to circle the block and come back to this one in Nashville, Tennessee. Judging from the entrance, I thought there might be some nice doors...I couldn't process what I was seeing in time to get him to pull over. This is not code-compliant, people! The elevator door was purty though.
This article was published in the March 2013 issue of Construction Specifier.
This photo was taken in a health care facility and was sent to me by both Jim Jensen and Jeff Tock of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies. :-(
This article was published in the February 2013 issue of the Locksmith Ledger:
This post should have been on Wordless Wednesday, because I'm not sure what to say that I haven't already said. For the 8th time in 3 years, a major fire in Kolkata, India, has resulted in multiple fatalities. At least 19 people were killed (one news report says 28) with 50 people injured, when an "illegal" market burned. This market has been in existence for over 25 years, and the building is 5 stories tall, so I don't know how the government can claim ignorance of the problems.
Chuck Noble of Certified Fire Door sent me these Wordless Wednesday photos. At the risk of stating the obvious, exits have to be visible and can't be concealed by decorations, and items attached to a fire door must be listed for that use.
I can't believe it has been 10 years since the morning I woke up, turned on the TV, and saw the aftermath of the deadly fire that killed 100 people and injured 200 others at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The recent news story below shocks me but it also underscores the fact that although we react when tragedy strikes, we often let our guard down as time goes on. We have to remain vigilant or history will repeat itself again and again.
On a weekend trip to Family Science Day, I saw these super-tall doors at the convention center:
In the months since the tragedy at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, there have been renewed efforts on the part of many schools to improve their security and better protect students, staff, and visitors. While I'm very glad to see the focus on these improvements, I'm also very concerned about some well-meaning but misguided efforts that I've come across. This post is not meant as an attack on any particular product or idea, but a reminder that as we secure these facilities, we must not forget about the other codes affecting the same doors that are being addressed.
Sorry for the interruption in my series on wired glass - I will continue it shortly. But this is a travel week for me, and I couldn't fly to sunny Florida without a quick trip to see my mom. Today I dragged her to an architectural salvage company to see if they had any interesting old doors and hardware. They had A LOT of doors - some really ornate and huge, and a room full of hardware...
First, I need some help. I've seen photos of this application a few times (including this one from Jim Jensen of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies), but what do you use to attach the two closers together? Is it something that has to be custom made, or is there a standard part that can be repurposed for the job?
Some of you will no-doubt recognize these doors if you attend a certain monthly meeting that I attend as often as I can. The meeting is held in one of several large banquet rooms in a restaurant, and they all have the same hardware installed. If anyone is NOT sure why this is a problem, read this post.
I'm pretty sure I asked for a PAIR of boots for Christmas, but Santa must have misunderstood. I ended up with one walking boot after falling off of running fountain while trying to take the perfect photo of a door for y'all. OK...actually I stepped off a little lip in a walkway while checking into our hotel in the dark and did some ligament damage. We won't know the extent of the damage until the swelling goes down. BUT - I did get a photo.
I have been struggling with this post. I can't answer the question the world wants an answer to -
Yesterday's mall shootings in Oregon should serve as a reminder to be aware of the available exits regardless of where you are. This door could be tough to navigate in an emergency.
I recently compiled my family's annual photo book, and I found A TON of door photos in the process. Here are a few doors I've seen in my travels...
