Wordless Wednesday

WW: Down at the DMV

I find the Department of Motor Vehicles so frustrating that one year I actually cried because after waiting over an hour they said I didn't bring the right utility bill.  AND...my car got hit by someone taking his driving test in the parking lot (he failed).  It might have all been worthwhile if I could have spotted an exit at the DMV like this one, sent in by Lisa Augerson of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies.  According to Lisa, the DMV person said they keep it unlocked during business hours.

By |2013-12-04T23:18:50-05:00November 6th, 2013|Flush Bolts and Coordinators, Means of Egress, Wordless Wednesday|6 Comments
Read More

WW: Velcro Dogging

In a brand-spanking-new huge and beautiful convention center, these attracted a lot of attention and MANY people mentioned them to me last week.  The panics have hex-key dogging, so I have no idea why they've resorted to wide-scale use of velcro.  Speaking of dogging...last night I went to an evening meeting at a school, and the teacher used her key to let us in the main exterior door.  Once inside, she turned to face the door opening and said, "Ok - there's a trick...where is it?"  Then she spied the small end of an allen wrench sticking out of a hole in the frame about 6 feet up, pulled it out, dogged the panic, and stuck the wrench back in the hole.  Very high-tech.  The funny thing is...the other leaf of the pair has an electric latch retraction device; all they need is a switch at the door to dog it.

By |2013-10-11T09:31:24-04:00October 2nd, 2013|Panic Hardware, Wordless Wednesday|13 Comments
Read More

WW: Push-Pull-Panic

Cory Yamaguchi of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sent me this photo of an egress door he saw on an outing to the local dairy farm with his family.  I'm picturing a farm that hosts lots of visitors, not the type where the cow:human ratio is 100:1.  In addition to the creative application of pull handles, there are loops up at the top (one looks like it's missing) if they need a little extra security.  If you're just tuning in, this is not code-compliant.

By |2013-09-29T19:11:32-04:00September 18th, 2013|Means of Egress, Panic Hardware, Wordless Wednesday|9 Comments
Read More

WW: No power? No problem!

When I'm teaching about the code-compliant ways to hold open a fire door, I always say that my preference is to use a wall-mounted magnetic holder because there are no moving parts, and not much can go wrong if it's installed correctly.  But if there's no power to the magnetic holder, it won't hold the door open.  And if the door won't stay open, someone will always come along with a creative solution.

By |2013-09-01T09:02:43-04:00August 28th, 2013|Electrified Hardware, Fire Doors, Wordless Wednesday|1 Comment
Read More

WW: Are the kids to blame?

Last Friday I posted an article about a school district settlement with a student, after a severe injury due to impact with traditional wired glass.  The article mentioned that a "15-year-old high school student fell while climbing atop a stack of rolled up wrestling mats."  What the article didn't say was that the mats had been rolled up between practices, and the student was helping to set up - the mats were stuck together and he climbed up to help free the mat and slipped, impacting the glass.  His injury was horrific, and he's lucky to be alive.

By |2014-08-22T22:56:18-04:00June 19th, 2013|Glass, Wordless Wednesday|14 Comments
Read More

WW: 5 Motions to Release the Latch

As most of you know, a required egress door must typically operate with only one motion to release the latch.  The common exception is dwelling unit entry doors in hotels and apartment buildings, which can have one additional locking device if the occupant load of the unit is 10 or less.  Take a look at this door, sent to me by Jeff Strangio of Maffey's Security Group.  Do you think you could figure out how to open it in smoky conditions?

By |2013-04-03T18:32:28-04:00March 20th, 2013|Doors Gone Wrong, Panic Hardware, Wordless Wednesday|3 Comments
Read More

WW: Uncoordinated

The good news...I'm on my way to Las Vegas for CoNEXTions 2012!  The bad news...our flight lost a hydraulic system and we had to land in Denver.  There's a replacement plane but it is larger and requires an extra flight attendant, who had to be called in from home.  I'm sure he's not a happy camper right now.  I will get there eventually, but while I'm waiting, here's another photo that left me Wordless.

By |2012-10-17T01:53:29-04:00October 17th, 2012|Door Closers, Wordless Wednesday|9 Comments
Read More

WW: Day Care Fire Exit

This is the emergency exit for a day care center, sent in by Dwight Isaacs of US Homeware Inc.  If you look closely, you'll see that the latch is up near the top of the jamb post, out of reach of the kids.  This seems like it could be a viable solution, except that in another situation when I asked all of my code official pals about how I could prevent a child with special needs from exiting out of a school without permission, most of them said that they would not allow a latch mounted above the range mandated by code.

By |2012-10-03T00:10:35-04:00October 3rd, 2012|Means of Egress, Wordless Wednesday|6 Comments
Read More
Go to Top