Should Fire Doors Be Locked
By enabling the swift passage of people to a place of safety the final exit.
Should fire doors be locked. Exits can only have enough doors to allow access from work areas or to the exit discharge. Any lock can be fitted onto a fire door because it s made of metal and metal doesn t burn in a fire. 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. The need for outward opening fire exit doors.
Using anything other than fire rated fail safe or fail secure hardware can lead to injury or even loss of life in an emergency requiring quick evacuation. Metal gets extremely. The lock must be fire tested and bwf fire door certified. Chaining the doors shut or blocking them in any way is dangerous and may be a violation of fire safety codes.
Fire exit doors must not be locked whilst a building is in use however when a building is unoccupied it can be locked as securely as required. 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. Don t block it or lock it. If dramatic security measures like chains padlocks or steel bars are required the first person entering the building in the morning must remove all of these.
Fire exits doors should open easily and wherever possible in the direction of traffic flow. Should fire doors be locked.