Decoded: Communicating Doors Between Sleeping Rooms (February 2016)

7 12, 2015

Decoded: Communicating Doors Between Sleeping Rooms (February 2016)

By |2015-12-22T10:38:25-05:00December 7th, 2015|Articles, Fire Doors|20 Comments

A door opening between two adjoining hotel rooms is called a communicating door, and is created by installing two doors within one frame - each swinging in the opposite direction. The purpose of these doors is to allow convenience for family or friends sharing two hotel rooms, but the doors also provide security between the two rooms when occupied by separate parties...

7 12, 2015

Q&A – Do pairs of fire doors require astragals?

By |2021-07-05T16:36:32-04:00December 7th, 2015|Fire Doors, Q&A|10 Comments

NFPA 80 - Standard for Fire Doors & Other Opening Protectives no longer includes a prescriptive requirement for certain pairs of fire doors to have astragals. In the 1999 edition of this standard (and prior editions), an overlapping astragal was required for pairs of doors rated for more than 1 1/2 hours. In the 2007 edition, the requirement for an overlapping astragal was removed, and the use of the astragal is dependent on the manufacturer's listing procedures...

4 12, 2015

FF: Black Friday

By |2015-12-04T09:58:28-05:00December 4th, 2015|Fixed-it Friday, Means of Egress|8 Comments

There are many commenters who feel that while the blocks are a danger to firefighters, they're not a code issue if the building is not occupied. If the pallets are blocking required exits, I think they are a code issue, unless one of you can find something in the International Fire Code that says the means of egress requirements only apply when the building is occupied...

30 11, 2015

‘Borderline national crisis’ in fire safety, says BWF-CERTIFIRE chairman

By |2015-11-30T12:04:28-05:00November 30th, 2015|Fire Doors, News, Videos|3 Comments

This press release is from UK-based BWF Certifire, but the US faces the same fire door problems that are endangering building occupants every day. Kudos to BWF Certifire for raising awareness of the value of fire doors...we NEED a similar program in the US, but who is willing to take it on? Scroll down for an informative video produced by the British Woodworking Foundation...

24 11, 2015

Landlord Jailed for Door Failure

By |2017-08-13T08:49:06-04:00November 24th, 2015|FDAI, Fire Doors, News|2 Comments

Jay Liptrot is a Wales landlord, and ironically - a firefighter, who failed to install a fire door assembly to protect an apartment where 2 adults and 3 children died in a tragic act of arson. Although he was originally charged with manslaughter, his charge was reduced and he was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison...

17 11, 2015

Classroom Barricade Follow-Up

By |2016-04-26T20:05:41-04:00November 17th, 2015|News, School Security|2 Comments

A few weeks ago I mentioned that there would be a meeting with the Ohio Board of Building Standards to discuss the proposed code language allowing classroom barricade devices. Quite a few of you left comments, and like me, most felt that the proposed language does not go far enough to keep teachers and students safe...

12 11, 2015

Closed Door Follow-Up

By |2015-12-16T09:59:56-05:00November 12th, 2015|Fire Doors, News, Videos|2 Comments

On Tuesday I posted some news reports about the effects of a closed door during a fire. NBC-5 has released a follow-up story on the fact that national fire safety organizations have not been including the message to sleep with your bedroom door closed in their educational materials...

6 11, 2015

FF: Good Luck Getting Out

By |2015-11-09T11:28:28-05:00November 6th, 2015|Doors Gone Wrong, Electrified Hardware, Fixed-it Friday, Means of Egress|14 Comments

Some Fixed-it Friday photos result in mixed emotions - sadness that people resort to these methods, excitement that I have something to share with you that will make you shake your head, concern that the creative application could cause harm. Like these photos from Leo Lebovits of M&D Door & Hardware, taken at a public swimming pool...

30 10, 2015

FF: To Exit, Enter Current Year

By |2015-10-30T12:01:36-04:00October 30th, 2015|Electrified Hardware, Fixed-it Friday, Means of Egress|10 Comments

Today's Fixed-it Friday photo was found on Imgur, so I don't know where it originated. It shows the creative use of an access control keypad to control egress. If this application was used in a memory care facility, it would be code-compliant if a delayed egress system or controlled egress system was used...

12 10, 2015

Barricade Device Update (October 2015)

By |2022-02-22T12:04:13-05:00October 12th, 2015|Articles, School Security|1 Comment

In the October issue of Doors & Hardware, I have an article on what took place in Ohio with regard to the state legislation on classroom barricade devices, and another article covering the myths and facts presented at the National Association of State Fire Marshals' annual conference (here's a video version of this information)...

6 10, 2015

Introduction to Codes

By |2016-05-18T16:43:28-04:00October 6th, 2015|Videos|5 Comments

Whether we’re specifying, supplying, installing, or inspecting doors and hardware, it’s our responsibility to speak up if we see situations that we know are not code-compliant and do our best to rectify them...

30 09, 2015

Field Labeling of Fire Doors and Frames

By |2017-05-01T09:34:05-04:00September 30th, 2015|FDAI, Fire Doors|7 Comments

With increased enforcement of the fire door assembly inspection requirements, deficiencies will no longer be ignored. When an AHJ sees non-labeled doors or frames in a location where a fire door assembly is required, it may be an indicator of other problems with the opening protective. In the past, there were limited options...

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