Last week I read a blog post called, "Excuse me, but your slip is showing," from Constructive Thoughts, the blog of Sheldon Wolfe. I'm a sucker for a well-researched article on a code-related topic, so I sent Sheldon an email asking if I could reference his post here. Sheldon told me to have at it, but also said that it wasn't very satisfying for him to write this type of article - where you research every angle and end up without a useful conclusion.
It appears this massive mishap could have been a lot worse than it turned out to be, but it is nevertheless a scary incident that left many people hurt and hundreds in harm's way. That may prompt the MGM Grand to reevaluate its current design and make some tweaks to avoid similar incidents in the future...
These doors are fire doors and also a marked exit, so a) replacing the fire exit hardware with surface bolts negates the positive latching, b) the rim strike that has been installed with the rim panic is not acceptable for use on a fire door, c) the guide rails prevent the inactive leaf from opening...
She added: “The one thing that would have made the world of difference, other than the fire not being started in the first place, is if the door to flat 101 (where the fire broke out) had been closed.”...
It seems like every time I attend a meeting of one of the associations I belong to, I see something to use on this site (here's one from a CSI meeting, and another, and another...
These are 3-hour fire doors which divide the modern wing of the museum from the older wings. This is an award-winning museum which houses more than 300,000 works of art in its priceless collection. The chance of a fire may seem unlikely, but if a fire occurs, the wedged-open fire doors will not protect the rest of the museum...
Have you ever been working on a specification or submittal and needed to find out whether a particular product was certified, or listed for a certain application? Maybe the plans show an oversized fire door and you need to see if your preferred manufacturer has tested a door of the proper size...
I realize that almost-daily emails from me might be too much for some people, so we Fixed-it. There is now a weekly notification available, which will send you 1 email per week, on Friday afternoon, with a list of that week's posts...
Fire door assemblies play a vital role in the protection of life safety, yet many people remain unaware of their existence. We pass through these doors every day in commercial, institutional, and multi-family residential buildings. A lack of awareness...
Gary Huizen of Huizen's Locksmith Service posted this Wordless Wednesday photo on the iDigHardware Facebook page...how many times have you arrived on a jobsite to respond to a closing/latching problem and found something like this?
Keys are a tough topic to address, because the accessibility standards mandate operable hardware which does not require tight grasping, tight pinching, or twisting of the wrist to operate. Keys obviously require tight grasping, tight pinching, and twisting of the wrist...
Here is yet another creative Fixed-it Friday method of holding open what I strongly suspect is a fire door based on the wire glass. If anyone has come up with a good process for educating custodians or other maintenance personnel about fire doors, I'm all ears!
Today's Wordless Wednesday photos came from an anonymous fire inspector pal of mine. This is very common in retail stores - the merchandise displays creep in and encroach upon the egress route, or inhibit the operation of fire doors...
Even if we only consider the space with the smallest occupant load - the classroom, the codes do not give us many options for preventing a student from eloping. If the classroom has an exterior door that is required for egress, it can not be locked in the direction of egress....
Some schools include seclusion rooms, where a child may be placed if he/she needs time to calm down without endangering themselves or others...
Paul Goldense of Goldense Building Products sent me these photos, taken in a 6-bay heavy truck repair garage. Lots of torches, welders, flammables, and other hazards present. Instead of replacing the door on the left, someone adept at welding Fixed-it...
I need some help from you...a nice clear photo of a door with the signage described below, as well as the indicator lock. If you have seen one of these in your local area, I'd really appreciate some help with these photos...
At least 20 students at Franklin Regional Senior High School in Murrysville were injured, and the alleged attacker is in custody, said Dan Stevens, a spokesman for Westmoreland County Emergency Management...
This illustrates why I disagree with "bending the rules" to allow non-code-compliant security devices to be used "after-hours." When the fire marshal agrees to something like this, the compromise would typically come with a qualifier...
The outstanding code violations include missing or damaged fire doors and exposed wiring, he said, and replacement doors and light fixtures have been ordered. An improperly installed gate and a parking problem also have been fixed to accommodate emergency vehicles, he said....
These photos illustrate one school's "fix" with regard to security on the cafeteria and gymnasium - unfortunately it happens to be completely non-code-compliant...
I'm in Las Vegas at ISC-West (come visit me in Allegion booth #20031 if you're here!), so I won't have time to write a post for today, but in case you missed my previous photos of the doors of Las Vegas...
When I look at a photo and can't come up with the right thing to say, I know it needs to be posted for Wordless Wednesday...like this one from Kevin Taylor of Allegion...
A long time ago, mostly before my time, some wood doors had a dowel on the edge that would indicate the type of core that was used. Several people have asked me to post a chart...
Bob Larson of Builders Hardware brought up a good question the other day...what's the best way to handle the outside trim on the exterior pairs on a school? We all have our preferences, but given the changing security...
First, a few things...For everyone who still has their fingers and toes crossed from yesterday's fire door test, the wood doors passed! In addition to addressing the perimeter clearance problems, a door shoe was tested...
I'm in Chicago today, to attend a fire test at Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrook. This product is designed to be used on fire door assemblies where the clearances are larger than those allowed by NFPA 80...
For the first time ever - 2 Wordless Wednesday posts in one day! This video will definitely leave you wordless...
Something a little different for today's Wordless Wednesday photo - less of a fire door / egress code issue and more of a...fire hazard (and probably an electrical code problem!)?
What do you think? Did the school overreact, considering that the parent was known to staff? Or should adherence to security plans be a zero-tolerance policy?...
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, effective in March of 2012, included an unexpected change regarding the maximum allowable force to operate door hardware...
My plan for harnessing the power of the Earth's population to identify and respond to code problems is working! This antique store must have some REALLY valuable antiques in it, but it's ok because someone has Fixed-It...
Last fall, one of my mom-friends turned 40. To celebrate in traditional fashion, we organized a posse of 13 40-something moms to go to a show. Not a show like the GoGos Reunion Tour...a drag show...
Will schools be held liable for "allowing" a crime to happen by giving the unauthorized person the ability to lock the door? I'm not a lawyer, but with schools paying settlements for wired glass injuries and being sued for inadequate security, I think it's something to consider...
Photos of the collapsed buildings show what appear to be fire walls between each of the adjoining buildings, which may have provided some protection from the explosion and resulting fire. The term "fire wall" is often misused...
Here's a little Fixed-it Friday quiz...how could this field modification have been avoided?...
Should schools be held liable for "unacceptable" levels of security? How much security is enough? What steps can schools take to not only provide physical protection for the building and its occupants, but to protect against lawsuits?
This mall exit was spotted by William Hoppe of UC Merced, and the photos were sent to me by Chad Jenkins of the National Locksmithing Institute. Unbelievable...
I don't know about you, but I used to feel like code officials were mysterious beings...sometimes they seemed a bit unpredictable. I think a big part of this is because the sections of the codes that we deal with on a daily basis are difficult to decipher if you are not intimately familiar with doors and hardware.
To some, locking doors to prevent egress may seem like a step backward. But in some applications, the danger of elopement is much greater than potential hazards of controlled egress. Until now, it has been difficult for memory care facilities to balance the code requirements for free egress or delayed egress, with the needs of their residents...
The 5th and final recipient of a $50 Amazon gift card in honor of iDigHardware's 5th birthday is Brian Adrian of DH Pace! Brian sent me a great collection of his favorites, some of which I'm saving for future posts, but check out this Fixed-It Friday winner...
I don't recall ever seeing this type of device in person and I didn't find any information online, so I went to my go-to resource - three treasured books by Adon Brownell, HAHC. And in the Architectural Hardware Specifications Handbook (1971), I found it - the hinged crossbar...
The Wordless Wednesday Winner is Logan Piburn, from Dyron Murphy Architects! Logan sent me LOTS of photos, and explained that these were taken at various rural schools, most built in the early 70's and still in use today. The photos were taken during surveys to identify existing problems and plan renovations.
Today's winner of the 5th-birthday gift card is Dan Droker of CCI Automated Technologies, who sent me some great photos from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. It makes me happy to imagine some of you embarrassing your spouses and kids by taking door photos during family outings. My family has begun to automatically sense when a door piques my interest, and they make themselves scarce. Except the little one who wants to be in every picture...
When panic hardware is installed, the actuating portion of the panic hardware must "extend at least one-half of the door leaf width." I have been taught since my first days in hardware school, that this means the width of the touchpad or crossbar has to measure at least half the width of the door. But lately I've had a couple of situations where someone interpreted this in a different way...
All is not well...
This post was published in the April 2014 issue of Doors & Hardware
This post was printed in the March 2014 issue of Doors & Hardware
These photos from Jodie Meyers of Phillips-Langley illustrate exactly what Wordless Wednesday is all about. This fire door leads to a laundry room in the physical education department of a high school. The door has plenty of problems (feel free to list them in the comments)...
To celebrate 5 years of iDigHardware, don't forget to send me some photos in exchange for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!
