A couple of weeks ago I started a series of blog posts about the hazards of traditional wired glass. I showed you some examples of traditional wired glass installed where it shouldn't be, and linked to some news reports which described incidents involving traditional wired glass. In case those didn't convince you that we have a problem, here are a couple more:
I woke up this morning to yet another nightclub tragedy - this time in Santa Maria, Brazil. This fire shared common issues with many of the past nightclub fires - a high occupant load, ignition of flammable foam or decorations, no working sprinklers, insufficient or unmarked exits, and a heartbreakingly-high loss of life. The death toll currently stands at 233. I can't help but imagine the bodies of the young people lined up in the make-shift morgue, with their cell phones ringing and ringing as their friends and family search for them.
I love hardware ingenuity, especially when it's code-driven. I've spent this week in Orlando with 500+ of my coworkers, and although we haven't had a whole lot of time to hang out by the pool, I had to go check out an application that was spotted by one of our specwriters - Matt Wildman.
This amazing lock is not related to the Bok Tower, but was created by Samuel Yellin.
On my way back from Bradenton to Orlando, I had to stop and see the gorgeous door at the Bok Tower Gardens. The gardens have to be one of the most beautiful and tranquil places I've visited...luckily I was there early, before the families started arriving or it may have been less tranquil. The 50-acre garden was established in 1929, by Edward W. Bok as a gift to the American people, and was designed by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead Jr.
Sorry for the interruption in my series on wired glass - I will continue it shortly. But this is a travel week for me, and I couldn't fly to sunny Florida without a quick trip to see my mom. Today I dragged her to an architectural salvage company to see if they had any interesting old doors and hardware. They had A LOT of doors - some really ornate and huge, and a room full of hardware...
This is the second post in a series about the hazards of traditional wired glass (read the first post here).
I apologize for the delay in posting...there were some problems on the server side. Thanks for your patience!
First, I need some help. I've seen photos of this application a few times (including this one from Jim Jensen of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies), but what do you use to attach the two closers together? Is it something that has to be custom made, or is there a standard part that can be repurposed for the job?
A few weeks ago, Ingersoll Rand announced plans to spin off the combined commercial and residential security businesses into a new standalone publicly held company. I immediately started getting calls and emails from blog readers asking what this meant to me and to our other employees, the brands, and this website. One hardware distributor said, “I can’t imagine the hardware business without Schlage, LCN, and Von Duprin in it!” I was very touched by the concern for our people and products.
This is a tough one. It's for a project currently nearing occupancy, so I would love any comments or thoughts you have on a solution. An automatic operator is required because of maneuvering clearance / level landing issues. The gate is already in place. A low energy operator is preferred. The gate is exposed to the weather. Any ideas? If you need more information, ask away!
I think this is the longest I've gone without posting! I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve! I figured I could get some good relaxation time in during the holiday week, then I promptly injured a ligament in my ankle, which led to a major bout of sciatica that flattened me for days. I'm hoping 2013 gets better!
Some of you will no-doubt recognize these doors if you attend a certain monthly meeting that I attend as often as I can. The meeting is held in one of several large banquet rooms in a restaurant, and they all have the same hardware installed. If anyone is NOT sure why this is a problem, read this post.
I'm pretty sure I asked for a PAIR of boots for Christmas, but Santa must have misunderstood. I ended up with one walking boot after falling off of running fountain while trying to take the perfect photo of a door for y'all. OK...actually I stepped off a little lip in a walkway while checking into our hotel in the dark and did some ligament damage. We won't know the extent of the damage until the swelling goes down. BUT - I did get a photo.
I have been struggling with this post. I can't answer the question the world wants an answer to -
For the last 8 years, I have coordinated a holiday gift drive along with my coworkers, family, and friends for the residents of our local family shelter and other families in need. This year we provided gifts for 75 kids and parents! When I went to the shelter with a load to drop off, I saw the sign below. I asked the director if they had a close call and she said, with a very grave look in her eyes, "more than one."
Yesterday's mall shootings in Oregon should serve as a reminder to be aware of the available exits regardless of where you are. This door could be tough to navigate in an emergency.
I recently compiled my family's annual photo book, and I found A TON of door photos in the process. Here are a few doors I've seen in my travels...
This photo, taken at an Ontario Hospital, was sent by Kelly Chimilar of Allmar. I'm confused.
I have LOTS of reader photos that I haven't had a chance to edit and post, so here's the first batch! Thank you for sending them, and keep them coming! I'll try to work faster in 2013!
I know I just posted some news stories a few days ago, but Zeke Wolfskehl sent another one that I have to share. It appeared in the New York Times on November 27th. Considering how difficult it is to make people understand the value of their fire doors and why they should be kept in working order, I think this article does a great job of illustrating the importance.
I can't figure out whether these are providing security or acting as the door closers, but either way they leave me wordless!
Bangladesh fire: Exit door locked - News 24
I just returned from a trip to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Grassy Cove, Tennessee. If you're a long-time reader of IDH, you may remember when I visited them way back in 2009 for the Chip Falcon Road Trip (my brother did the cycle testing).
I'm spending most of this week in Tennessee, and yesterday I went out to the local supermarket for a few more Thanksgiving dinner supplies. This door caught my eye...
I'm on a road trip with my family this week to go visiting for Thanksgiving, and yesterday we stopped in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I can sniff out a beautiful or unusual door from a mile away, but I didn't expect to find such a plethora of different beautiful doors on the same building.
Yes, this is a fire door, and yes, the bollard is permanently bolted in place.
I haven't been able to find an answer to this one!
Although the schools in Providence, Rhode Island, are supposed to be inspected by code officials annually, some had not been inspected for 10 YEARS. I wonder how many public schools are in the same boat?
This week I've been spending some time with Karina Guadencio, an Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies specwriter from Brazil. In addition to lots of discussion in the office, we've been to a Boston Chapter CSI meeting, had lunch with the master specwriting team at Kalin Associates, conducted a punch list at Harvard Law School, and visited Columbus Door (thanks everyone!). It's been a whirlwind tour! Add the cold and last night's snow, and I think she's ready to head south (especially since she's having dinner with my family tonight! :D).
I'm not going to post the name of the person who sent these photos in, because I contacted the restaurant and I don't want them to see his name here and seek revenge the next time he places an order. I got no response after sending two emails...I wonder if the fire marshal eats here.
I've stayed at several hotels lately that had a sliding door on the bathroom within the hotel room. This solves some coordination issues involving the door swing and the method of stopping the door, but creates questions of its own. What type of sliding door hardware do you prefer for a solid core sliding door? And what type of latch do you use for privacy?
I'm getting ready to head home from Arc-US in San Diego (which has been a fabulous conference!), and wondering how long it will be before someone tweets a photo of me singing on stage with the Dueling Pianomen. Until then, here's some signage the likes of which I've never seen before. I'm in favor of signage to prevent door abuse. Save the doors!
I recently visited a facility where security is their top priority. Many of the doors are set to sound an alarm if they are left open for more than 6 seconds. This presents a challenge when carts are being moved through the opening, because the doors need to stay open long enough for the carts, but need to close before the 6-second mark. There are 10,000 employees on-site during a typical day, and leaving a door unsecure / not locked or latched can result in termination of their jobs. Many of the doors are fire doors, which adds some extra complexity to the issue. Almost all of the doors have access-control.
This is becoming a recurring theme. I'll be in a few airports later this week...maybe I'll see some more.
This post was printed in the January 2013 issue of Doors & Hardware
My trip to CoNEXTions 2012 in Las Vegas last week was a whirlwind! There were so many people that I didn't have a chance to catch up with - I don't know if I can wait until CoNEXTions 2014 in Dallas!
For the second time in two months, a news story came across my desk that involved the impact of mag-locks on security. For some involved in the security industry, mag-locks are perceived to be an easy way to retrofit a high level of protection, because the field preparation is limited and the manufacturers' literature shows holding force specifications which seem like more than enough to keep out the average burglar.
This post was printed in the November 2012 issue of Doors & Hardware
Today I was able to spend some time on the trade show floor at CoNEXTions 2012, the Door & Hardware Institute conference. It was great to see so many old friends and some new products. My pal and code aficionado, Steve Bettge, tracked me down and escorted me to a booth where there was a product that was right up my alley.
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.
Here's one more beautiful opening from Tucson before I head off to Las Vegas for CoNEXTions 2012! If you'll be there too, leave me a comment and let's try to meet up!
During a break in today's BHMA meetings I took a drive south to see the Mission San Xavier Del Bac. The mission was founded in 1692, and the current church was built between 1783 and 1797. It is located in the center of a Papagon Indian settlement. The mission has been constantly maintained and periodically restored, so it's in beautiful shape. You can read more about the history of this gorgeous building here.
On my way to Tucson I had a layover, and every single emergency exit door was set up similar to this one. Thoughts?
I'm in Tucson this week for the BHMA Fall Meeting. My husband thinks it's all fun and games, but we've been working hard on some new standards - one for ligature-resistant hardware and one for residential hardware. There's a lot more on the agenda over the next couple of days, but it's a beautiful area to have a meeting, the hotel is great, and I saw my first javelina today (I still think it was a wild boar :D).
Back in August, I posted some information about a change to the UL procedures regarding fire doors less than 32" wide. UL has just issued another bulletin, which reverses the August 2nd bulletin. There will be no special requirements for labeling doors less than 32" wide - doors can be labeled in accordance with the manufacturers' service procedures.
This article was originally published in the Summer 2012 issue of Life Safety Digest, a publication of the Firestop Contractors International Association (FCIA). The article has been revised slightly to reference more recent codes.
Last year I published a post about the two common types of smoke detectors - ionization and photo-electric detectors. There was a report on NBC News tonight about this same topic. In case you missed the first post or didn't get around to checking the detectors in your home, here's a follow-up:
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