I'm heading south today after teaching a class in Knoxville, and tomorrow I'll be arriving at the DHI conNextions conference in New Orleans. I'm teaching my brand new 1 vs. 100 class on Thursday, October 21st at 8 a.m. I hope to see you there!
As I continue on my training adventure, staying in multiple hotels along the way, I'm reminded of a "Quick Question" that recently hit my inbox: Are swing bar door guards prohibited by NFPA 80 for fire door assemblies on hotel rooms?
I'm making my way around the Southeast, heading for my final destination - the DHI conNextions conference in New Orleans. I'll be teaching my brand new 1 vs. 100 class on Thursday, October 21st at 8 a.m. Meanwhile, there are lots of classes on the schedule for this week!
Today's Quick Question arises often, when existing hardware on a fire door assembly is replaced with new hardware: If existing holes in a fire door assembly are covered by the new hardware, is this compliant with the codes and standards?
I was just talking with someone the other day about how hard it must be to get on-the-job training while working remotely. If you or someone you know is new to the industry or new to the Allegion brands, check out Allegion 101!
Rit Bellefleur of Accurate Commercial Door & Hardware Services, LLC sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo. This is a fire door in a school, and the bottom latch clearly serves no purpose. What's the point??
I have posted a couple of spec updates in past weeks, both related to one small portion of an actual project specification. Today's post addresses the remaining paragraph in the example - oversized fire doors.
Last week I posted the first in a new series of posts, with the goal of delving into some specification sections to try to understand the intent and see where updating is needed. Another question came up regarding the same spec section.
I have been thinking about adding a new type of post for a long time, and today's the day I will try it out. I can't tell you how many times I've opened a specification to estimate a project, and found outdated information...
Last week, I updated the Decoded article on smoke door requirements of the IBC, and I was asked to update this NFPA 101 post as well. There were not many changes in the 2021 edition of the Life Safety Code, but here is the revised post.
There's more online training available this week...whether you are new to the industry, responsible for maintaining a facility, or interested in one of this week's Webinar Wednesday topics, there are lots of classes to choose from!
There are so many options for online training this week! Whether you're an architect, end user, distributor, locksmith, installer or security integrator, new to the industry or with years of experience, there's something for you to learn.
Thank you for all of your comments and feedback on last week's Fixed-it Friday post - I really appreciate the help! I'd love to hear what you think about fire door assembly labels as an educational tool for building occupants.
When I wrote the title of today's post, I wondered where the term "onward and upward" came from. I found that the original source was from a poem called "The Present Crisis" by James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)...
My next Decoded article for Door Security + Safety magazine highlights the importance of fire door assembly inspections in multi-unit residential buildings. Enforcing the inspection requirements and repairing deficiencies will undoubtedly save lives.
There are so many online classes to choose from this week! Which one(s) will help you stay up to date on what's happening in the door and hardware industry?
What will happen when a fire occurs in the US, where an adopted fire code requires periodic fire door inspections and a state or local jurisdiction decides not to enforce the requirement? I'm afraid we'll find out before too long.
Fire doors in hotels are critical for helping to deter the spread of smoke and flames during a fire. To perform as designed and tested, the fire door needs to be closed and latched if a fire occurs. This is why we need annual inspections of fire door assemblies!
Fire door inspection is a hot topic these days, and one of this week's Webinar Wednesday classes covers The Essentials of Fire Door Inspection. You can also learn more about fire door assemblies on iDigHardware's fire door page.
Last week I answered a Quick Question about whether a listed threshold could be used to reduce excessive clearance at the bottom of a fire door. I always appreciate the heads-ups when I make a typo, but this time I didn't! :-)
Last week I wrote about a fire in a Queens apartment building, where an open door allowed a fire to spread. FDNY shared a video that shows some of the interior of the building after the fire that left more than 200 people homeless.
I like to think that I'm pretty even-tempered...I don't get mad very often (and when I do - RUN). But every time I see an apartment fire where the door was left open as the apartment residents escaped, I feel even more frustrated and angry.
In my opinion, removing the fire door assembly inspection requirements through a state modification of the model codes is detrimental to the safety of building occupants. What do you think?
As I talk to people about fire door assembly inspection, two sides of the discussion have emerged. Many understand the increased life safety and fire protection provided by code-compliant fire doors - others think the deficiencies are too overwhelming to address.
This elementary school fire door "fix" is one way to keep the wedges from disappearing but might be tough to explain when the fire marshal shows up for an inspection.
Have you ever pointed out a door problem to someone and had them respond with a shrug and some form of "so what"? A fire door is held open improperly...so what - chances are slim that the building will catch on fire today. Right??
At first glance this may look like just another creative Fixed-it Friday alteration, but upon deeper investigation it's a cringe-worthy Wordless Wednesday application. How will this opening protective perform during a fire? Who knows??
...Another propped-open fire door. When are people going to learn?? If you don't know why this is a problem, click the link to watch a video that will teach you all about fire door assemblies.
With permission from the author, Hal Kelton of DoorData Solutions, along with Door Security + Safety Magazine, I'm excited to share this article.
Fire door assemblies with counterfeit labels - am I the only one who finds this an extremely disturbing idea? Who knows how these doors will perform if there is a fire???
The Steel Door Institute (SDI) just released a new video that covers the annual inspection requirements for fire door assemblies. Feel free to share it!
Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS) is a UK-based organization dedicated to fire door safety. Sharing this information about US fire doors could improve building safety.
I think online learning is here to stay. Which doesn't mean that we'll never see each other in person again, but there's a lot we can learn in the meantime.
In case you missed this short paragraph in the NFPA Journal article I shared on Monday, I wanted to bring it to your attention since several iDigHardware readers emailed me about it...
I receive a lot of questions about the code requirements for fire door assembly inspections, so when the Steel Door Institute asked me to write an article on the subject, I was more than willing!
Today's Quick Question: Can an existing fire door be labeled in the field for a higher rating than what it was originally listed for?
If NFPA 80 requires 1/8-inch or 3/16-inch maximum perimeter clearance for fire door assemblies, is it acceptable to add the manufacturing tolerance to that dimension?
One side of this device is attached to the door with double-sided tape, and the other side is magnetic. It is used in a memory care facility to indicate whether a resident's room is vacant or occupied. WWYD?
The new fire door inspection cards have been updated, and they will be printed and laminated soon! Thank you for your patience! (I also have a label question for you.)
If a labeled fire door is installed in a location where a fire door is not required, must the assembly be maintained and inspected according to the requirements of NFPA 80?
Do you use our laminated fire door assembly inspection cards? I could really use your help!
Yesterday, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro spoke with Bill Ritter on the show Up Close about recent fires that occurred in NYC, where open doors had a negative impact on safety.
Fire, panic, and other emergencies can strike anywhere, any time. To offer the highest level of protection, buildings must be code-compliant everywhere, all the time.
This documentary should be required viewing - not just for those of us who are involved in codes, but for anyone who enters buildings (that means everyone).
There's more than one way to hold open a door for convenience, and if it's a fire door, the method needs to be code-compliant. Here's a great Fixed-it Friday example.
If a door or frame has a label indicating that is is fire rated, is the assembly required to be maintained and inspected as required by NFPA 80 and NFPA 101? A proposed code change offers a clarification.
This article was published in the October 2019 issue of Locksmith Ledger, and includes some questions that you can use to determine whether your code knowledge is up-to-date.
It warms my heart that in the last 10 years, the number of people who actually notice these problems (and often do something to resolve them) has increased significantly.
Maybe rules really are made to be broken? Which code requirements are being violated with this creative Wordless Wednesday installation?
Do you know of any facility that is using the performance-based option for fire door assembly inspection? I asked the Joint Commission about it...
