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.
Steve Budde of Greenwood Care sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo, taken in an apartment building he was visiting. Although I'm a big fan of instructional signage, does anyone see the 4 little problems here?
Fabricating this protector and welding it to a rated frame to protect the door edge from cart/bed traffic would not be allowed by the frame manufacturer's listings - at least not any listings that I've ever seen. WWYD?
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.
Today's Quick Question: Can a threshold be used to address oversized clearance at the bottom of a fire door? What do you think?
We've got you covered! Up this week...Security in 30 for integrators, a webinar on the ABCs of Access Control that offers AIA CEUs, Allegion 101 for newcomers, and 4 Webinar Wednesday classes.
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.
The next series of Allegion 101 begins tomorrow, Webinar Wednesday continues with 4 classes available this week, and next week there's a live presentation on the ABCs of Access Control that offers AIA credit.
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.
Past fires in hospitals and nursing homes - and the resulting fatalities - have shaped the codes that we use today. Although today’s codes do not typically require patient room doors to be fire door assemblies, these doors provide a critical layer of protection for patients.
Questions about double-egress cross-corridor pairs in health care facilities arise frequently, so I have updated this article to reflect the current requirements of the model codes.
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.
The opportunities for distance learning continue, and here's what's on the docket for this week. The recording of my fire door session from last Friday is available on-demand, along with the Q&A from the session.
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??
There's more virtual training available this week, and an early notification of a session being hosted next week by DHI and DSSF. This webinar covers application of the 5th edition of the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools Guidelines.
There were plenty of times over the years when my kids reluctantly tolerated my "teachable moments" about life safety. I'm so happy to know that some of it stuck! I hope you are talking to your family and friends about doors! :-)
Security in 30 is BACK, and I'm so excited that one of the requested topics is...CODES! If you are an access control integrator, please join me next Friday, February 19th at 12:30 EST, for Security in 30: Live with Allegion.
If you have a garage attached to your home, it is very likely that the swinging door between the garage and the house is required by code to be a 20-minute fire door assembly or the equivalent. Here's why...
It's hard to believe that it has been so many months since we've been able to gather in a classroom together, but during that time Allegion has provided more than 150 online classes. Here's what's coming up this week...
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??
Today's Wordless Wednesday photo is shared with permission from Vince Davis, who posted it on the Fire and Life Safety Inspectors Facebook page. If this is a fire door it's got some other issues, but the egress problem is clear.
In 2020, iDigHardware readers visited the site more than half a million times and spent thousands of hours reading my posts and articles. These are the most popular posts of 2020...did you miss any?
It's a new year, and the online training opportunities continue! Here's what's available this week in both the Allegion 101 series and the Webinar Wednesday series. Feel free to share this information with others in your office.
I have not commonly seen automatic-closing devices on fire door assemblies released by the sound of the fire alarm system vs. the detection of smoke, but maybe it's a viable option for the US market? WWYD?
Blaming fire victims for leaving the door open as they escape is not the answer. And why wait for a tragedy to occur before enacting laws that require existing apartment doors to be self-closing?
...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.
As 2020 (finally) draws to a close, we have year-end projects to finish and hopefully some down-time with our families. But there's still time to learn, and our training team has plenty of options available.
Having the proper clearance around a door helps the door to close and latch correctly, affecting function, security, egress, accessibility, and fire protection, so knowing how to shim a door can come in really handy.
We MUST continue to educate people on the importance of keeping their fire door assemblies performing properly. An annual fire door inspection could have saved lives in this fire.
Someone asked me recently why distributors are still ordering swinging fire doors with a neutral pressure fire rating. I don't know the answer to that...do you?
I'm participating in three sessions at next week's virtual DHI conNextions conference...I hope to "see" you there!
I'm participating in three sessions at next week's virtual DHI conNextions conference...I hope to "see" you there!
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???
I can't say for sure that is a fire door assembly, but I've seen this Fixed-it Friday application on fire doors many times in school gymnasiums.
Do you have some free time on Saturday? I'll be participating in a (free) virtual trade show and I'd love to have you stop by my virtual booth and visit!
Fire door assemblies aren't just something you read about in NFPA 80 - they have an important role in the passive fire protection of a building. Here's another fire door win!
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!
I'm finishing up my presentation for the DHI conNextions conference - covering the changes to the 2021 model codes, and I need your help!!
In case you missed Paul Timm's webinar last week, the recording is now available. And...our national trainers will be conducting 4 live sessions tomorrow.
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.
These WW photos illustrate a creative attempt at meeting the requirements for stairwell reentry, while inadvertently voiding the fire door label.
If your fire exit hardware shows up on the job-site without the dogging feature, there's a good reason for that. Homemade dogging is not a valid fix!
Today's Quick Question: Do the requirements of NFPA 80 "trump" the ADA requirements? Is fire protection more important than accessibility?
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.
I have an opportunity to do a Q&A with a company offering field relabeling/recertification of fire door assemblies, and I want to make sure that I don't miss any questions you may have.
Several questions were prompted by my recent webinar on touchless hardware, about the requirements addressing automatic operators and non-latching hardware on fire doors.
