FF: You Get What You Pay For
I have run out of words. Is this the best we can do to secure our classrooms? :(
Cost Savings vs. Life Safety
Promising to cut "red tape," business-friendly politicians evidently judged that cost concerns outweighed the risks of allowing flammable materials to be used in facades...sound familiar?
New Code Changes for Classroom Doors
Now that the NFPA 101 vote has passed, the 2018 model codes will be pretty consistent with regard to classroom security. I pulled together information from the IBC, IFC, and NFPA 101 for this article...
NFPA 101 – The Votes Are In
As many of you know, yesterday was the NFPA Technical Meeting where NFPA members voted to decide whether NFPA 101 should allow two releasing operations for classroom doors, or continue to require one releasing operation to unlatch the door for egress...
A Tale of Two Schools
I read the two news stories below on the same day, which struck me as ironic. When it comes to security and safety, you can take the easy, fast, and cheap approach, or take the time to carefully consider the issues and alternatives and invest in a suitable solution...
Vote for Life Safety
NASFM is certainly aware of the need to protect our schools and businesses from senseless acts of violence, however we feel strongly we must carefully consider the solutions being proposed...
Classroom Security Risk Transfer – Paul Timm, PSP
On a fairly regular basis, someone sends me a video clip or a link to a news story, asking, “Have you seen this classroom lockdown device?”
FF: Convenience vs. Security
After a lockdown system was installed at this elementary school, a piece of pipe insulation was glued to the entrance door leading to the day care center. Why?
Fire Destroys School in Mesquite Texas
Following up on my earlier post about school security and safety, here's a report from Fox 4 News about a school fire that occurred just yesterday...
Classroom Security AND Classroom Safety – Why Compromise? (June 2017)
The graphic that will appear with this article in Doors & Hardware illustrates a potential application for existing classroom doors if the 2-operation language is approved...
Violent crimes in public schools: Why parents aren’t being notified
With these conditions in so many schools, I don't understand why any district would take on the potential liability associated with failure to meet their duties of care...
I need you.
Let's not look back on this moment in history and think, "If only we had done something..."
2-Operation Follow-Up
When a proposal was made to add a reference in Chapter 7 to the exceptions for 2 operations, the Technical Committee on Means of Egress almost unanimously opposed this change...
WW: Exit Bolt
My husband: "Do other people cry on Wednesdays or is it just you?"
WWYD? 1 Operation, or 2?
I need your help. The topic of today's post could affect life safety for decades, and I hope you will read it and leave some feedback...
Looking Back: Nickel Mines PA School Incident
From the moment a gunman began shooting 10 girls in an Amish schoolhouse last year, 2½ agonizing minutes ticked by before state police were able to force their way into the barricaded building...
Chardon High School Shooting – 5 years later
It's hard to believe that today is the 5th anniversary of the shooting at Chardon High School, where 3 students were killed and 3 others were wounded...
Decoded: School Security Update (March 2017)
In case you haven't been following the classroom barricade device issue closely, here's an update. Within the last few years, products have begun to appear on the market which were advertised as a secure way to lock a classroom door...
Man-Traps in Schools
This morning I found an article in my news alerts: Roxbury Eyes Spending $580K on "Man Traps" for Schools. My first thought..."Oh. No."
NFPA Journal: Classroom door locking against unwanted entry, By Ron Coté
As I've said before, with regard to classroom security code changes, NFPA 101 is on a slightly different schedule than the the ICC codes. Although changes to the 2018 editions of the IBC and IFC have already been approved...
When Simple is Safer: The Dangers of Door Barricades in Schools – John Woestman
This article was written by John Woestman of the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) and recently appeared in Locksmith Ledger...
DSSF: Opening the Door to School Safety
The Door Security and Safety Foundation has announced a video and public relations campaign which stresses the importance of securing classroom doors without compromising life safety...
WW: Instructional Signage
This Wordless Wednesday photo came from Dustin Elam of the Santa Ana Unified School District. Dustin's not responsible for the instructional signage. :D
OSU: Surviving an Active Shooter
As soon as I heard the news, I remembered a video that was produced by Ohio State University, instructing people how to respond...
KEYNOTES: Enhancing K-12 Security
Despite the dramatic advances in construction, technological tools and safety protocols that have been made in the past two decades, this progress is not always evident in many of our nation’s K-12 buildings...
School Security & Safety Lawsuit
Last week, the family of Colleen Ritzer filed a lawsuit against the town of Danvers, the school department, the architectural firm that designed the new wing of the school where the teacher was killed, and the cleaning company...
School/College Planning & Management
What should a school consider before purchasing classroom barricade devices, also known as temporary door locking devices?
Good News – 2018 IFC on Classroom Security
The classroom security change that will be included in the 2018 IFC is consistent with the IBC, and early adoption of this language would go a long way toward maintaining life safety and creating a uniform set of requirements across the United States.
Opinion: Lock Functions for Classrooms – Don Cherry
I occasionally publish a post from a guest blogger, and I just learned that sometimes the author can receive CEUs for these posts through various industry organizations. Today's post is from Don Cherry of Allegion.
Construction Specifier: Battling the Barricade
In the wake of any tragedy, society struggles collectively to process the loss. For some it is the loss of friends and loved ones, but for most it is our feelings of safety and trust in the overall goodness of our fellow man that are diminished or seemingly lost entirely. In their place, we are filled with an overwhelming desire to do something...
WW: Barricade Bolt
I received this photo from Guardian Fire Testing. The bolts have been installed on existing fire-rated doors in a school, and Guardian was asked to relabel these fire door assemblies...
Classroom Barricade Proposal – North Carolina
A code change proposal has been submitted to the North Carolina Building Code Council, to address "emergency lockdown safety mechanisms" (AKA barricade devices) in schools, government buildings and office buildings...
What is CPTED?
CPTED (pronounced sep-ted) stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, and is defined as a multi-disciplinary approach to deterring criminal behavior through environmental design...
Elopement from Schools
I read an article this morning about a 3-year-old boy who eloped from his preschool in Bangor, Maine. The teacher saw him go through the exterior door...
FF: Barricade Box
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer is hoping a device he invented will be in your child’s school soon. It’s designed to keep active shooters out of classrooms...
Fire Fight – ProPublica
For the last year or more, our industry has been dealing with legislation overriding the code development process in several states, with regard to classroom security...
Classroom Locking Device – One Motion Egress
We have been asked to share our expertise and constructive feedback on this product idea for locking classroom doors...
UCLA Students Unable to Lock Doors
During yesterday's shooting at UCLA, Brian Fochler tagged me in a photo tweeted from the engineering building where the shooting was taking place, which was my first indication that something lock-related was happening. Since then I've received many other emails...
Classroom Security – Latch Prevention
Schools have been able to use magnets over locking mechanisms, allowing doors to be easily opened throughout the day and still lock quickly by simply removing the magnet. But by Jan. 1, 2018, that quick fix will no longer be enough...
BBS Memo – Temporary Door Locking Devices
Here's the latest on classroom barricade devices...let me know what's happening in your state.
School Crime Stats – The Good News and The Bad News
The National Center for Education Statistics has just published an updated report for Indicators of School Crime and Safety through 2015. The good news is...
Banned: Classroom Barricade Locks
In this age of classroom shootings, many are looking for barricade locks - a cheap and easy stopgap to bolster door security...
New Ohio school barricade rules concern disability group
If a school decides to buy all new doorknobs for their school, and only buy a lever handle for the one classroom with a teacher who has a disability, in my opinion that would not meet the intent of the ADA. What makes it ok to do the same thing with classroom barricade devices?
Law allowing school barricade devices raises concerns in Portage
Safety officials are concerned a new state law that allows barricade devices on classroom doors could make a crisis situation worse. The idea sounds great...
2018 IBC Change for Classroom Locking
THE VOTES ARE IN, and the code change proposed by BHMA to address classroom locking in the 2018 IBC has been approved as modified by public comment!
WWYD? School Security Bill
These school security requirements could eventually be incorporated into your state's school security legislation. What additions or changes would you like to see?
SIA Event at Congressional School Safety Caucus
Last week, the debut event of the Congressional School Safety Caucus on Capitol Hill was hosted by the Security Industry Association (SIA). This event brought together the co-chairs of the caucus with school security experts to talk strategy, and included a panel discussion moderated by Tim Eckersley...
Beyond Lockdown
As a member of the door and hardware industry, my focus with regard to classroom lockdown is how to provide security without jeopardizing safety. Lt. Joseph Hendry of the Kent State University Police Department looks at the issue from a slightly different (and valuable) perspective...
Viral Video Follow-Up
In yesterday's post I wrote about a video on classroom barricade devices that had gone viral. In the first 36 hours or so, the video had 18 million views. 18 MILLION! Almost 600,000 people have shared the video on Facebook, and about 6,500 people have commented. This is an amazing (and somewhat disturbing) example of the power of social media...
URGENT WW: The Future is Now
A video about classroom barricade devices - a particular company's devices, actually - has been posted on a Facebook page and has gone viral. Right now, about 14 hours after it was posted, it has over 3 million views. There are over 1,000 comments - many of them in support of this idea...