Should Fire Exit Doors Be Locked
And not only do you have to lock them they also need to be alarmed and in certain cases made to be almost bomb proof.
Should fire exit doors be locked. They must be free of devices or alarms that could restrict use of the exit route if the device or alarm fails. The door should open in the direction of evacuation. Fire exit routes. It is against both codes to physically lock doors to prevent an occupant s exit from a building room or space.
The final fire exit door must. Exit route doors must be unlocked from the inside. Side hinged exit doors must be used to connect rooms to exit routes. The first although rare restricts use of an exit.
There are also additional requirements where the door is the final exit point of a building. Osha requires that the height of an exit must be seven feet. Above all equip doors with panic hardware and fire exit hardware. Hardware consisting of bars that extend to at least half of the width of the door leaf.
Fire exits doors should open easily and wherever possible in the direction of traffic flow. Fire exit doors can be any colour. Fire exit doors should open in the direction of escape. For example this should not be less than 30 inches and not more than 44 inches above the floor.
The important thing is that the exit doors are clearly signed. Emergency routes and fire exits must be indicated by signs. The need for outward opening fire exit doors official guidance to the rro from the communities and local government department recommends that that all doors on escape routes should open in the direction of escape but states that this is particularly important if more than 60 people use them or they provide an exit from a high fire risk area. There should be no locks or catches.
If it is a security door that is usually kept locked but will be used by members of the public in an emergency situation it will have to be fitted with a panic or push bar. In an ideal world you wouldn t have to worry about locking doors but leave one unlocked and you can almost guarantee you ll have uninvited guests. However in the workplace it may be permissible to have an exit. Openings into exits must have self closing fire doors that remain closed but not locked or automatically close at the sound of an alarm the door frame or hardware must be listed or approved by a national testing laboratory.