I've been holding onto these photos for over a year, not knowing exactly how to address the issue of a propped-open fire door in a fire station, of all places. Then I saw a news report about a fire that occurred in a fire station while firefighters were sleeping...
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...
Two posts in one day! :) I just read an article about fire doors in Fire Engineering, and thought y'all might like it...
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.
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.
This Fixed-it Friday news report about replacing entrance doors in multi-family homes makes a few good points, but misses out on the chance to educate people about how their fire doors should operate. I noticed a few things that weren't 100% accurate or could have been more clear...like the statement that you don't need fire doors in your single-family home. I would have mentioned the need for protection between the garage and the house - the International Residential Code requires a solid wood door, or a solid or honeycomb core steel door, or a 20-minute fire door:
What I like about the Rescue 2 Training post is that it gives the firefighter perspective on why a closed door can be so helpful during a fire. If every firefighter understood the value of fire doors (and other doors), imagine how much more attention the non-compliant doors would get...
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.”
I was asked this question last week - when testing a swinging fire door to determine whether it closes and latches, what degree of opening is used? Do you open the door fully? Does the door have to close and latch from any position?
Clearances in excess of those allowed by NFPA 80 are one of the most common problems with fire door assemblies, and can be very difficult to resolve. National Guard Products has just released two new UL Certified accessories for excessive fire door clearances...
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!"
This article was published in the January 2015 issue of Locksmith Ledger.
Although the news reports are focused on the recent loss of a historic school in Champlain, New York, a fire door between the original section and a 1960's addition did help to prevent the spread of smoke and flames:
There have been many fires throughout history that have shaped our current codes, and I recently ran across a series in the Enid (Oklahoma) News which includes several events that impacted the door and hardware industry specifically. As I've said before, I think we can learn a lot from the past...
Reporter Quote: "The people who ran from the room where the fire began left the door open behind them, and the fire quickly spread into the hallway..." Fire Department Quote: "There's a fire door that separates the two compartments of that wing, and it did its job..."
The Hollow Metal Manufacturers Association (HMMA) is a division of the National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers (NAAMM), and publishes more than two dozen reference documents related to hollow metal doors and frames...
The purpose of cross-corridor doors in this application would be to compartmentalize the building. The magnetic holders make it clear that the intention is for the doors to close if there is a fire alarm. This is obviously not going to happen if there are wood wedges in place...
Paul Timm: "...The riskiest options employed today rely on relatively inexpensive aftermarket products that cover strike plates, prop open locked doors, or prevent ingress from the hallway..."
You may have already noticed...I've been taking a little time off between the holidays, but here's something to keep you busy until I'm back in action next Monday...
NFPA 80 does not prohibit their use but the International Building Code (IBC) requires automatic-closing doors in certain locations to be smoke-activated...automatic-closing by the actuation of smoke detectors...
Most magnetic holders provide 20-30 pounds of holding force, and can be released manually by pulling on the door to separate the door-mounted armature from the wall-mounted magnet. The signage here tells me that the magnet is probably not anchored to the wall properly, and I guess adding a sign is one way to fix the problem...
My next online Decoded class will be held on Wednesday, December 17th from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Eastern. This is the second class in the series of 4 presented on behalf of the Door & Hardware Institute where I will cover the requirements for fire door assemblies, including...
Most of you know how important a door can be in preventing the spread of fire, but recent efforts are helping the general public understand the value of their doors and how to use them as a tool to save lives...
When you have a pressurized stairwell that is required for smoke control, the increased pressure in the stairwell makes doors swinging into the stair more difficult to open, and doors swinging out of the stair may not close and latch. WWYD?
Jerry Rice of DH Pace sent me today's Wordless Wednesday photo. This behavior isn't going to change until someone gets in trouble...
Personally, I would love to take a photo, fill in some information, and have it routed to the correct fire department. But there are challenges when considering an app like this for use on a wider scale...
I can't count how many times I've been asked for help when a label from a listing laboratory has been removed by the painter/cleaner/installer/meddling kid from the door/frame/armor plate/fire exit hardware. Unfortunately, I'm not much help...I can't send you a new label to stick on. That's what makes these Fixed-it Friday photos so sad...
Allegion is conducting a series of monthly webinars for access control integrators, which address code compliant access solutions for various applications. All webinars are held at 2 p.m. Eastern. Click here to register or to access recordings of past webinars in this series...
Recently a question from a code official landed in my inbox - "Can an electric strike on a fire door be operated by a motion sensor?" For example, if a door was often used by people carrying boxes or other large items, could a sensor release the strike so the building occupants could just push on the door rather than turning the lever to exit?
It's Wordless Wednesday again! When I was in Baltimore a few weeks ago, I was loitering around these pairs of fire doors leading from the exhibit hall to the service corridor...
A 42-unit apartment building was destroyed by fire last week in Columbus, Ohio. The fire began in a second-floor apartment, and the door to the apartment was left open when the resident evacuated. According to investigators, fire doors in the corridor and stairwell were also propped open, allowing the smoke and flames to spread and leaving the residents no safe escape route...
Lots of fire doors in the news, in large part because of Fire Door Safety Week last week!
There are 3 educational opportunities coming up, but you have to act fast! An on-demand video of a fire door test - 1 week only! Access Control Training begins Thursday! The next online Decoded course begins tomorrow!
According to news reports, it sounds like an open door or possibly two open doors, along with an illegally locked second exit and insufficient smoke detectors may have contributed to the deaths of 4 children in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood...
In preparation for an upcoming class for access control professionals, I'm putting together some printable summaries of code tips on security-related topics. The first sheet I'm working on addresses requirements specific to fire door assemblies that would be important to an access control integrator or security consultant...
Something recently caught me by surprise and I feel like I should bring it to light so that anyone who is specifying, supplying, or installing electrified hardware on stairwell doors would be aware of the potential issue...
In addition to providing support and training on door-related code requirements, my job also includes participating in code development - helping to propose changes to the codes that affect our business, and reviewing proposals from others. There is currently research underway that may propose to add school security requirements to a national code...
In a few weeks I will be teaching my Decoded online course again, this time on behalf of the Center for Campus Fire Safety. The Decoded course is a 4-class series on code requirements applicable to doors and hardware, and is based on the following codes and standards...
Keith Brooks, Head of Prevention and Protection at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “This case is a perfect example of how important fire doors are when a fire breaks out both in the home and the workplace. They play a critical element in saving lives and property and should never be propped open..."
If you read this paragraph in a vacuum, it seems like all fire doors have to limit the air infiltration to this level (in most cases this would require gasketing), but this paragraph falls under section 716.5.3 - Door assemblies in corridors and smoke barriers. There are two sections following 716.5.3 that apply to other types of fire doors...
Products installed as part of a fire door assembly must be listed or labeled for that purpose. Components that are not listed or labeled must not be attached to the fire door and may void the label. In two recent cases I have seen non-listed protective guards for hardware as well as blinds installed on fire doors...
Last week I was asked whether the 2012 edition of NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code requires annual fire door inspections for health care facilities. As many of you know, the Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will soon be using the 2012 edition of NFPA 101 when they survey health care facilities...
Late in 2010 when this blog was about a year and a half old, the editor of Doors & Hardware asked if they could publish one of my blog posts in each issue as a monthly column...
I received this photo from Chuck Noble of Certified Fire Door, and it is the epitome of Wordless Wednesday...
The New York City Department of Buildings has announced that New York City will be adopting a new construction code as of October 1st, 2014. Please forward this post to any of your colleagues who work on projects in NYC.
I'm in Dallas this week to teach DHI's COR140 - Using Codes and Standards and then attend the DHI Conference - CoNEXTions 2014. It's a crazy-busy week, so it may be a full week of reader photos. If you've been hoarding your awesome door photos, send them along!
In just a few days I'll be heading to Dallas for CoNEXTions 2014 - the DHI annual conference. As I mentioned before, I'll be teaching COR140 - Using Codes and Standards Monday-Wednesday, and in late-breaking news, I'll be teaching the CE1401 Codes and Standards Update on Friday (6/27) from 1:30-4:00 p.m. CE1401 is an online code update, but I'm going to talk about some of the recent changes live and in person. This class is being offered for FREE as part of the conference registration (it is normally $250 for members/$350 for non-members).
Rectifying clearance problems can be difficult and costly, so it may be tempting to leave non-compliant doors in place and assume that a little extra clearance won’t affect the performance of the fire door assembly; I can now say from first-hand experience that this is not true...
Here's one for those of you who are familiar with hardware installation...what's wrong with the door in this photo? Hint: It's a fire-rated electrical vault door...
Locksmiths are often called upon to increase security at an existing door or replace hardware that is damaged or defective. There are several code-related issues to note before getting started...
