Fire Doors

FF: Random Creativity

If any of you attended DHI's AH2 class in Savannah, Georgia back in the Good Old Days, you may have had one of my all-time favorite instructors - Bob Jutzi.  I actually use a lot of his techniques when I teach, to try to make my classes more engaging and dare I say "fun"?  I don't have a flat-cat Earl, but I still have the monkey from my AH2 class (and a monkey arm from another year).  Bob sent me the photos below so if you want to leave him a "howdy" you can do so in the comments.

By |2014-01-29T13:31:55-05:00January 10th, 2014|Door Closers, Fire Doors, Fixed-it Friday, Panic Hardware|11 Comments
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Manhattan High Rise Fire

On January 5th, a fire in a Manhattan high-rise apartment building resulted in the death of building resident Daniel McClung, who was found in a smoke-filled stairwell.  Several other residents were injured, including Mr. McClung's husband who was also found in the stairwell.  The fire appears to have been the result of an overloaded extension cord or power strip.  The apartment's resident was not at home when the fire started, and reportedly opened his door upon returning home, saw the fire and escaped leaving the door open.  This provided oxygen to the fire, and allowed the smoke and flames to spread.

By |2016-12-02T22:45:11-05:00January 7th, 2014|Fire Doors, News|8 Comments
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Back to Cape Cod

A few years ago I took my family to a resort on Cape Cod for winter break, and I spent this past weekend at the same resort.  On our first visit, I found a lot to write about...the hinges on all of the cross-corridor doors had been modified (sometimes very badly) and were no longer code-compliant for fire doors, the fire doors connecting the 8 buildings were propped open with wedges and the latches had been removed, the swimming pool egress doors were questionable, and there were a few other issues.

By |2016-08-23T21:01:58-04:00January 6th, 2014|Door Closers, Fire Doors, Hold-Opens, Road Trips|13 Comments
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Swing Free in School?

Over the weekend I visited a local high school for a swim meet.  Right away I noticed MANY pairs of fire doors equipped with LCN Sentronics, which are designed to hold the doors open until the fire alarm sounds and then close the doors to deter the spread of smoke and flames.  Some of these doors were propped open with wood wedges (uh-oh).  When I took a closer look, I realized what the problem was.

By |2017-05-30T16:06:29-04:00December 9th, 2013|Door Closers, Fire Doors, Hold-Opens|16 Comments
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St. John the Baptist School – Peabody, Massachusetts

Yesterday was the 98th anniversary of a tragic school fire that took the lives of 22 children between the ages of 7 and 17, who were burned or crushed to death while trying to escape.  The 3-story brick and wood building was engulfed within 5 minutes, and it's miraculous that more of the almost 700 children and staff in the building were not killed.  The fire began in the basement, and traveled through the building as the basement doors were left open.  The oil finish used on the wood floors contributed to the toxicity of the smoke.  The stairs were not enclosed, and did not discharge to the exterior.  Almost all of the victims were found just inside the main entrance.  As a result of this fire, Peabody became the first city to pass a law which required egress doors in public buildings and schools to swing in the direction of egress.

By |2016-11-23T20:18:04-05:00October 29th, 2013|Fire Doors, News|3 Comments
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FF: More Velcro

People always tell me how much they love Wordless Wednesday - the day I post photos that leave me wordless (speechless).  I think the steady stream of creative applications I'm receiving would support a Friday series to help ease us into the weekends.  I need some help with a catchy name for this category of posts (that doesn't contain any inappropriate language).  So think about a name that goes with "Friday", and conjures up visions of creative, although sometimes misguided "solutions".  If I use your idea, there's a $25 Amazon gift certificate with your name on it.  Freaky Friday?  Friday Funnies?  Help?!

By |2013-10-16T10:37:45-04:00October 11th, 2013|Fire Doors, Fixed-it Friday|14 Comments
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Reader Photos

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.  ;)

By |2016-07-25T18:02:56-04:00September 6th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Door Closers, FDAI, Fire Doors, Hinges & Pivots, Locks & Keys, Means of Egress, Panic Hardware, Reader Photos|9 Comments
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WW: No power? No problem!

When I'm teaching about the code-compliant ways to hold open a fire door, I always say that my preference is to use a wall-mounted magnetic holder because there are no moving parts, and not much can go wrong if it's installed correctly.  But if there's no power to the magnetic holder, it won't hold the door open.  And if the door won't stay open, someone will always come along with a creative solution.

By |2013-09-01T09:02:43-04:00August 28th, 2013|Electrified Hardware, Fire Doors, Wordless Wednesday|1 Comment
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Impact of Citizen Involvement

I love it when people take action to rectify a code issue - especially when it's a door problem.  Two articles landed on my desk in the last few days about just that - citizens who saw a deficiency and didn't let it drop until it got some attention.  Both stories are from the UK and both involve high-rise apartment buildings - maybe Theodore Firedoor is helping to educate people about code-compliant fire doors. 

By |2017-09-29T13:37:42-04:00August 2nd, 2013|FDAI, Fire Doors, News|0 Comments
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Science Lab Doors

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.

By |2017-10-26T12:51:37-04:00July 5th, 2013|Fire Doors, Means of Egress|5 Comments
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WWYD: Help Wanted

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...

By |2017-10-26T12:51:43-04:00July 2nd, 2013|Door Closers, Fire Doors, Hinges & Pivots, Means of Egress, WWYD?|18 Comments
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Beautiful Doors of Denver

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.

By |2013-07-10T15:32:05-04:00June 20th, 2013|Accessibility, Beautiful Doors, Fire Doors, Means of Egress|3 Comments
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Solution for Oversized Undercuts

Last year as one of my projects neared completion, the architect called me to say that the bottom latches of the fire exit hardware were not long enough to reach the floor-mounted strikes.  This is a pretty common problem because that clearance needs to be very tight for the latch/strike templating - sometimes as little as 1/4" between the bottom of the door and the surface where the strike is mounted.

By |2016-04-12T17:59:24-04:00March 14th, 2013|Fire Doors|3 Comments
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Effects of Earthquake Damage on Fire Safety

While this test report was not heavy on door-related data, I thought some of you would enjoy reading about this groundbreaking study which looked at how a test building was affected by several simulated earthquakes, and then how the damaged building's fire safety systems performed in a series of fire tests.  I found the video below fascinating:

By |2013-05-01T19:48:57-04:00March 12th, 2013|Fire Doors, Health Care, Videos|2 Comments
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School Security Follow-Up

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.

By |2016-11-23T20:17:50-05:00February 11th, 2013|Fire Doors, Locks & Keys, Means of Egress|14 Comments
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Early Christmas Present

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.

By |2012-12-24T17:53:39-05:00December 24th, 2012|Fire Doors, Means of Egress|25 Comments
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A Closed Door – The Best Ally in a Home Fire

I know I just posted some news stories a few days ago, but Zeke Wolfskehl sent another one that I have to share.  It appeared in the New York Times on November 27th.  Considering how difficult it is to make people understand the value of their fire doors and why they should be kept in working order, I think this article does a great job of illustrating the importance.

By |2016-08-31T10:59:52-04:00November 30th, 2012|Fire Doors, News|2 Comments
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