FF: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
I really love this restaurant, but every time I go I wonder if someone approved this egress arrangement or it just sorta happened as they were hanging the drapes...
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Baby It’s Cold Outside – Phil Chandler
We've received close to 4 feet of snow in the last week, so when I saw The Inspector's column in this month's e-NewZone monthly newsletter from The Center for Campus Fire Safety, I asked them if I could share it here...
Lock Functions (video)
Last week I posted a couple of videos explaining some basic code requirements and terminology for panic hardware. The next videos in the series address a topic that I KNOW many architects and others struggle with (because I've personally explained it at least a thousand times) - lock functions...
Panic Problem Follow-Up
Many of you figured out right away that someone has taken fire exit hardware designed for a 3-foot-wide door and installed it on a 4-foot-wide door. The original mechanism tube has been replaced with one from a 4-foot device, and a filler plate fills the area where the wider touchpad should be...
Understanding Lock Functions
This article, which appears in the May 2015 issue of Doors & Hardware, is a good explanation of lock functions that might be helpful when a school is considering how to address classroom security. I will add this to the list of resources on my Schools tab (above)...
Decoded: Screen Doors and Doors in a Series
Screen doors are sometimes used in commercial or institutional occupancies, where air transfer through the opening is desired. One example of this would be a door leading from a commercial kitchen to the exterior. In some areas of the country where the climate is temperate, this is a common application which consists of two doors in the same opening, one inswinging and one outswinging. It can be very difficult for people with certain disabilities...
What happened in Ohio?
As many of you know, a public hearing with the Ohio Board of Building Standards was held last Friday. This hearing was part of an ongoing discussion about whether Ohio should allow barricade devices to be used to secure classroom doors. There was a previous hearing where invited speakers presented their views; on Friday the podium was open to anyone who had something to share with the Board. These hearings were prompted by the filing of bills in the Ohio House and Senate, summarized as:
School Liability and the Law of Unintended Consequences
MANY people have asked me about the potential for liability if a school chooses to secure their classroom doors using a barricade device that inhibits or deters egress. Could a school be held liable? I didn't know the answer, so we enlisted the help of an attorney to help us understand the considerations...
Construction Specifier: Understanding Code Requirements for Panic Hardware
This article is currently posted on ConstructionSpecifier.com...The question, “When is panic hardware required by code?” is one that many specifiers continue to struggle with because there isn't a simple answer to this seemingly simple question...
Field Labeling of Fire Doors and Frames
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...
FF Follow-Up
Last week's Fixed-it Friday photo has raised some questions about the best way to handle an unequal pair...a) Do both leaves of a pair require panic hardware?...
WWYD? Fire Door Inspections
Will fire door inspections be enforced for health care facilities? NFPA 101-2012 clearly requires them, but it seems that more proof was needed...
Decoded: Flush Bolts and Coordinators
A common question is whether an inactive leaf that is provided for convenience, aesthetics, or movement of equipment, and not required for egress is allowed to have manually-operated flush bolts...
Decoded: School Security Update (March 2017)
In case you haven't been following the classroom barricade device issue closely, here's an update. Within the last few years, products have begun to appear on the market which were advertised as a secure way to lock a classroom door...
Tower of Babel – Sheldon Wolfe
On further thought, I realized I really don't know much about the countless codes and regulations that govern construction...
Cross-Corridor Pair Follow-Up
So far, there are 20 comments on the Fixed-it Friday post from last week, so I think a follow-up is in order...
Honolulu High-Rise Fire
Last week, 3 lives were lost in a fire that occurred in a residential high-rise in Honolulu, Hawaii. Although the cause is not yet known...
Sensor Bars for Egress
Last week a code official contacted me because he had seen some egress doors in a school that were equipped with sensor bars used to release electromagnetic locks...
Sneak Peek
I told you we were going to have fun this week, right? Well, what could be more fun than a quiz to help you learn about codes? :D But first, I have to tell you something...
¡Muchisimas Gracias! Thank You!
You may or may not have noticed, I have been on vacation with my kids in Guatemala for the last 2 weeks. I wrote all of my blog posts and articles before I left...