Over the weekend, a tragic crowd crush occurred at a Halloween event in Seoul, South Korea. Although this incident occurred on a narrow street, a crowd crush can also happen inside of a building. As with all life safety issues, we must continue to be vigilant.
Today begins the annual observance of America's Safe Schools Week, and I recently spent some time with Mark Williams of the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), talking about how to safely secure classroom doors. Watch our video in today's post.
Over the last few weeks I have spent a lot of time in airports, and I saw several family restroom applications "in the wild," including a restroom door with an automatic operator and an electrified locking system for privacy. Check it out!
Today's Wordless Wednesday post underscores yet again the value of closed doors during a fire. If you haven't heard about the "Close Before You Doze" educational efforts, you can learn more at closeyourdoor.org.
I get a lot of requests for training on fire door assembly inspection, and I just realized that one of my coworker Jeff Tock's sessions was recorded and made available on YouTube! You can check it out in today's post.
As someone who grew up in the 70's and 80's, I remember learning to "Stop, Drop, and Roll" in school. To be honest, I thought this was a skill that I would use much more often, kind of like the quicksand survival tactics I obsessed about as a kid.
With the number of apartments in a metropolis like New York City, and the prevalence of fires in multifamily buildings, how are code officials ever going to get a handle on the non-code-compliant conditions?
The Rhythm Club Fire in Natchez, Mississippi is yet another example of how egress doors can impact life safety during a fire. This video from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation shares some important information about the lessons learned.
This story from WWLTV does a great job of illustrating the importance of compartmentalizing a building for fire protection. It focuses on the firestopping at the new MSY airport in New Orleans, and discusses the potential results of voids that are not code-compliant.
NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology investigated the Station Nightclub Fire and published a list of 10 recommendations based on their findings. Recommendation 5 was related to egress...
I was recently asked to create a class for locksmiths, installers, or others who are looking for a crash course on the most frequently-asked code questions related to door openings. And here it is! Share it with all who could benefit from this training!
There are concerns associated with barricade devices that can trap building occupants as well as delaying or preventing access by emergency responders. A statement from the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) explains the potential dangers...
When it comes to fire doors, we should not rely only on the mantra, “Close the Door, Close the Door, Close the Door.” Every fire door assembly should be inspected annually – as required by current codes – and deficiencies repaired without delay.
The investigation continues into last Sunday's fire in a Bronx apartment building, and the cause of the fire has been identified as a space heater. This post includes some of the latest information regarding the effects of open doors during the fire.
I just got an email from a coworker in Korea, who said that it had been a long time since he had seen me, but that he was listening to one of my webinars so it was like I was right there with him. :) If you're feeling like you haven't seen me lately, check out this episode of DoorTalk!
If you're not familiar with Manufacturing Day, it's an annual series of events aimed at helping to fill 4 million high-skill, high-tech and high-paying manufacturing jobs over the next decade. Check out our US facilities in this video!
Last Saturday, our family movie night included a viewing of an episode of the TV show 48 hours, where the Station Nightclub fire was discussed in depth. If you have not seen it yet, I encourage you to watch the show.
If you are planning to participate in the Allegion 101 course that begins tomorrow, you may want to start with this video explaining the various organizations involved in the selection, installation, and maintenance of door openings in non-residential buildings.
This video is a great addition to our library of whiteboard animation videos - it explains basic electrical concepts and terms that commonly appear in the door hardware industry. You can access other videos in the library by visiting the Videos page of iDigHardware.
My coworker, Aaren Kracich recently conducted a short training on the new LCN Compact operator for NFMT, including some Q&A. If you have any other questions you can leave them in the comment box below and I'll make sure they get answered.
In this month's edition of the National Fire Protection Association's series: Learning Something New, NFPA looks at changes to the world of fire and life safety in the US that occurred after the 9/11 attacks. You can read more in the NFPA Journal Article by Angelo Verzoni.
Cost and complexity can be barriers to the installation of a traditional automatic operator, but LCN has created a solution that allows an auto operator to be added to an existing 4040XP door closer. Have you seen the new LCN Compact Automatic Operator?
Everyone and everything seems to be going green these days...check out this green door closer, sent to me by Eyal Bedrick of Entry Systems Ltd. (Watch the video.) And Happy Fixed-it Friday!
While doing some research about special amusements and the applicable code requirements, I was reminded that the 37th anniversary of a special amusements tragedy recently passed; 8 teenagers lost their lives in this fire.
I've been on the lookout for a pair of doors with automatic flush bolts and a coordinator that was installed, adjusted, and functioning properly, and I finally found one last week at UTK. Here's a quick video showing how a coordinator works.
Some hardware applications are tough to explain with photos, and a video can be really helpful. In case any of you ever need to explain how overhead stops work, I made you a video! :-)
I'd love to know what the fire marshal in Oklahoma City had to say about the plan for this concert! There were 100 space bubbles - each holding 1-3 people. Egress concerns, anyone? #wordless
Several colleges and universities approached Allegion to find a solution for individual lockdown of doors with panic hardware and access control. For doors with Von Duprin QEL devices, the Emergency Secure Lockdown (ESL) feature is the answer.
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.
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.
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?
Eighteen years ago this week, I sat stunned as I watched the news reports on the fire that had occurred the night before in the nearby city of West Warwick, Rhode Island. 100 fatalities, more than 200 injured...
I saw this video posted on the BANG Forcible Entry Facebook page and I thought of y'all. I'm sure you'll quickly spot the problem with this training video on how to defeat a door with panic hardware. :D
Although I've heard people say that no pricetag is too high when protecting our most precious assets, there are checks and balances to consider. What do you think about school security methods like this one?
You may already know all about this topic, but I guarantee you have some friends and family members who do not. Share this message to help keep them safe.
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?
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!
Do you remember back in July when I shared crazy Wordless Wednesday photos of how a flash flood affected some doors? Well, here's a WW video of a similar incident!
I have been asked so many times - hundreds - whether it's ok to lock a door in the direction of egress, and unlock it only in an emergency...the answer is almost always "NO!"
Hand sanitizer is not normally within my area of expertise, but I've been receiving questions about it so I checked to see what NFPA had to say.
It must have been around 30 years ago when my boss sent me to a seminar held at a local hotel - the topic was a new federal law called the Americans With Disabilities Act.
On top of the threat of fires and active shooters, crowds themselves can be deadly. New technology for crowd monitoring is the topic of this episode of Learn Something New™ by NFPA Journal.
Most of you know how important this message is to me: Close Before You Doze. Check out this video from the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department.
One of the side-effects of staying at home is that we're not out-and-about to run across Wordless Wednesday and Fixed-it Friday applications. Can you help save my streaks?
Covid-19 has inspired new "inventions" to help people avoid touching door hardware with their hands, to limit the spread of the virus. How can the hardware industry help?
Next up in NFPA's series of short videos...Are 3D-printed buildings safe and code-compliant? What do you think? Would you live in a 3D-printed house?
Remember when Ohio's state codes were changed in order to allow classroom barricade devices? Almost 5 years later, questions are being raised about safety.
Yesterday, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro spoke with Bill Ritter on the show Up Close about recent fires that occurred in NYC, where open doors had a negative impact on safety.
This documentary should be required viewing - not just for those of us who are involved in codes, but for anyone who enters buildings (that means everyone).
This video was made by Von Duprin in the 1940's...I'm very proud that I can continue to share the importance of life safety and free egress!
