WW: Bollard Hold-Open
Yes, this is a fire door, and yes, the bollard is permanently bolted in place.
Providence School Inspections (and more)
Although the schools in Providence, Rhode Island, are supposed to be inspected by code officials annually, some had not been inspected for 10 YEARS. I wonder how many public schools are in the same boat?
Closer Pressure Equalizer
Today I was able to spend some time on the trade show floor at CoNEXTions 2012, the Door & Hardware Institute conference. It was great to see so many old friends and some new products. My pal and code aficionado, Steve Bettge, tracked me down and escorted me to a booth where there was a product that was right up my alley.
Meeting Room Pair
I'm in Tucson this week for the BHMA Fall Meeting. My husband thinks it's all fun and games, but we've been working hard on some new standards - one for ligature-resistant hardware and one for residential hardware. There's a lot more on the agenda over the next couple of days, but it's a beautiful area to have a meeting, the hotel is great, and I saw my first javelina today (I still think it was a wild boar :D).
Follow Up – UL Listings for Narrow Doors
Back in August, I posted some information about a change to the UL procedures regarding fire doors less than 32" wide. UL has just issued another bulletin, which reverses the August 2nd bulletin. There will be no special requirements for labeling doors less than 32" wide - doors can be labeled in accordance with the manufacturers' service procedures.
Fire Door Inspection – Top 10 Deficiencies
This article was originally published in the Summer 2012 issue of Life Safety Digest, a publication of the Firestop Contractors International Association (FCIA). The article has been revised slightly to reference more recent codes.
WW: Hotel Doors
How is it possible that hotels almost always have fire and egress door issues? It seems like they would get it right once, then duplicate those good applications across the chain and make sure that they're maintained. Yet hotels have been a great source of Doors Gone Wrong.
Fire and Egress Doors in the News
Free Webinar: NFPA 80, Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Swinging Fire Doors
WW: Measure Twice Drill 8 Times
I recently saw this closer prep on a brand-new fire door. Now what?
Filling Holes in Fire Doors
Whenever I teach a class on fire door inspection, questions always come up about holes in fire doors and how to fill them. I promised a class of 120 last fall at the Yankee Security Conference that I would write a blog post about it, but there was really no good solution, particularly for wood doors - until now.
UL Fire Doors <32" Wide
UPDATE: As of October 4, 2012, UL has reversed this directive. The bulletin can be downloaded here.
Aurora Apartment Fire Follow-Up
Earlier in the week I published a post about a fire in Aurora, Colorado. Today I ran across this news report which shows an apartment where the door was open, vs. an apartment where the door was closed. The reporter states that the doors were 2-hour rated, which is not typical, but some good publicity for fire doors regardless.
Aurora Apartment Fire
This morning I read about a fire in Aurora, Colorado, at a 4-story apartment building. The fire occurred Monday night, and it's possible that it is the result of arson. Sadly, there were two fatalities - a couple who had lived in the building since the 1970's.
Q&A: Panic Hardware vs. Fire Exit Hardware
Question: What's the difference between panic hardware and fire exit hardware? And what's an exit device?
Decoded: Fail Safe vs. Fail Secure – When and Where?
This post was printed in the August 2012 issue of Doors & Hardware
Q&A: Electric Latch Retraction on Fire Doors
Question: I was told that I couldn't use dogging on panic hardware installed on fire doors. Is it acceptable to use electric dogging?
WW: Raceway
I received this photo from Nancy Bailey of Girtman & Associates, a division of Bass Security Services. I'm guessing that the slack in the wire is so that it can be run around the outside of the glass kit. If this was a fire-rated door, would this method be acceptable?
Retail Store Entrance – Fire Doors?
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember that our annual Fathers Day tradition is to go to Ogunquit, Maine, walk along the Marginal Way, do some shopping, have lunch, and then play on the beach (here are some photos from last year).
WW: Unhinged
I'd like to tell you where I got these photos but then I'd have to kill you and that would be bad for business. :D
Keyes Life Safety Compliance
I met Brad Keyes a couple of years ago when he emailed me to ask about the requirements for the annual inspection of fire doors. Since then, Brad has become my trusted resource on health care life safety requirements. He has started a blog for his health care consulting firm (KeyesLifeSafety.com), and covers various topics related to health care, including some posts about doors. If you have a question for Brad and don't find the answer on his blog, he is very generous with his time and will likely answer your question if you submit it using the link on his site. He is an expert on NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code, and is my go-to guy for all things health care.
Decoded: Electric Strikes on Fire Doors
This post was printed in the June 2012 issue of Doors & Hardware
Everywhere I Go
As always, I've been noticing interesting doors everywhere I go...
Prevention Points: Ripped from the Headlines
Sometimes I feel like maybe I'm a little *too* passionate (borderline weird) when it comes to doors and their code issues. Today I struggled with whether or not to call the fire marshal regarding the indoor playground I posted about earlier in the week. At the urging of some AHJs in other parts of the country, I did. It feels like tattle-taling, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened. It probably won't, but what if?
Effects of Fire Doors on an Apartment Fire
On January 19th, 2011, Firefighter Mark Falkenhan was killed in the line of duty while fighting an apartment fire at 30 Dowling Circle in the Hillendale section of Baltimore County, Maryland. The fire was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the video below details the events leading to this fatality.
Fire and Egress Doors in the News
The surprising and sad thing about these news stories that came across my desk this week is that none of these fatal fires were first-time occurrences. Four people were killed in the Ontario retirement home fire that is the subject of a current inquest, but a total of 45 people have been killed in Ontario retirement home fires since 1980 - the worst record in North America. There were fourteen people killed in a Peru rehabilitation center fire this week, and 29 more were killed in another rehab center fire in Peru in January. Nine people died in a karaoke bar fire in Busan, South Korea, and 15 more were killed in another karaoke bar fire in the same city in 2009.
Fire Watch
When I teach classes about fire doors, one of the most common questions is regarding modifying fire doors in the field. NFPA allows limited modifications to be done in the field, and if doors are to be modified beyond what is allowed by NFPA 80, they are supposed to be taken back to a UL/WH shop, modified, re-labeled, and reinstalled. This made me wonder about the big hole left in the fire separation while the door is in the shop. Temporary doors aren't feasible in most cases, because if you're going to go to the trouble and expense of fitting a temporary door into an existing frame, you might as well just replace the existing door instead of modifying it. The answer might be to post a "fire watch" for the time period that the fire doors are removed.
Doors of Miami Beach
I'm spending the night in Miami Beach for the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC) conference. I had some free time this afternoon so I took a drive around looking for some doors to share with you all. Despite my hunting, almost every commercial door I saw was run-of-the-mill aluminum storefront. No custom pulls, no fancy glass, nothing ornate...I'm sure they're here somewhere, but I didn't find them.
WW: Reader Photos
Thanks to y'all I'm never short of reader photos, and these photos leave me wordless...just in time for Wordless Wednesday!
WWYD: Hotel Electric Room
UPDATE: This application was discussed at length on the Building Codes Forum, so go check it out to see what the AHJs had to say. The final decision was that the door should have been a 20-minute door, even if the contents of the electric room did not require a higher rating. As a 20-minute door it should have been self-closing and self-latching.
Follow-Up: 20 Minute Fire Doors
Last week I posted some photos of a pair of 20-minute doors with some "issues," and I want to thank everyone who left comments with their thoughts on the situation. Often, people tell me that they know something is required but aren't sure where to find it written, so I thought it would be good to follow up on what the issues were and why, as well as addressing some of the comments.
20-Minute Fire Doors
Last week I was teaching a class in a room with a pair of fire doors that had some issues. Anyone care to list some of them?
More Reader Photos
These ALL came from Jeff Tock, one of our national trainers who spends most weeks traveling around conducting classes and sees a lot of doors in the process. Jeff will be here in New England in a few weeks conducting the "Preparing for a Fire Door Inspection" class for facilities. If you work for a hospital, school, university, or other type of facility in the area and want to make sure that you're prepared, let me know and I'll put you on the invitation list.
Hartford Hospital Fire (Video)
December 8th, 2011, was the 50-year anniversary of a fire at Hartford Hospital which caused the death of 16 patients, staff, and visitors, and resulted in many important changes to code requirements for hospital construction. Connecticut Public Television has just released a video about the tragedy and the resulting code changes. Other than the statement "all patient room doors must have positively latching hinges," it's a great piece.
Fire Doors – WIN!
I LOVE THIS PHOTO!
Edge Channels
Even though I risked being called a weirdo by my colleagues, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try to learn more about the 5" wide edge channels that are sometimes required on fire-rated wood doors with concealed vertical rod exit devices. When these channels show up on the jobsite without warning, architects tend to be less than pleased. The interesting thing about these doors is that although they have the channels and fire exit hardware, there are no visible labels on the doors or frames. It's possible that the door label is on top, although the concealed closer channels take up most of the real estate up there. We explored ways to check the top of these super-tall doors, but it will have to remain a mystery unless we can sweet-talk our way onto the lift they use to change the lightbulbs.
Multiple-Dwelling Fire Safety
Last week I wrote about a tragic fire in Chicago, in which Shantel McCoy was killed. I provided links to several articles in my post, but in a nutshell...
Reader Photos
I have spent this entire week at our corporate office, so I haven't had a lot of time for posting. In return for your patience, next week I will post the third and final article from Lewis C. Norton's "How I Discovered Door Checks." That seems fair, right?
Apartment Fire – North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
UPDATE: More articles added at the bottom of the post.
Social Media Roundup
There have been a lot of interesting door-related stories in the news lately. In case you missed my Tweets...
WWYD? Cross-Corridor Pair
Thanks for your patience, everyone. My week "off" was followed by our Thanksgiving holiday, so I haven't posted as much lately. But I'm back, and I saw lots of doors while I was away.
New York Minute
My coworker Don Cherry and I with special guests.
Fire Door Brain Teaser
Paul Goldense of Goldense Building Products showed me this pair of fire-rated doors last week. He mentioned that the architect had to change the arch to make it a "flatter" curve because of the rating, and that they had to use continuous hinges instead of butt hinges. Who can tell me why?
WWYD?: Back-to-Back Doors
Which product application do you use when you have doors that open back-to-back and need to close upon fire alarm? I was just explaining my preferred option to a specwriter last week, and then these photos arrived...perfect timing!
9/11
I can't believe it has been 10 years already. I've seen a lot of remembrances in the media this week...it's one of those moments in time when we'll never forget where we were, what we were doing, who we were with, how we felt. I was about 6 weeks away from having my first child, and I first saw the television coverage at the midwife's office. They had turned off the TV in the waiting room, but had it on in an inner office...I guess it was best to keep the pack of pregnant ladies calm and deal with our anxiety one-on-one.
Reader Photos
Here's the latest batch of photos sent in by blog readers. Thanks everyone!
Social Media Roundup
Here are some links to recent door-related social media activity. Enjoy!