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The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.It seems that a week can’t go by without hearing the latest story about a passenger who went cuckoo and tried to yank open an emergency exit, only to be tackled and restrained by those around him, who thought they were on the verge of being ejected into the troposphere. While the news never fails to report these events, it seldom mentions the most important fact:  You cannot – repeat, cannot – open the doors or emergency hatches of an airplane in flight.  

You can’t open them for the simple reason that cabin pressure won’t allow it.  Think of an aircraft door as a drain plug, fixed in place by the interior pressure.  Almost all aircraft exits open inward.  Some retract upward into the ceiling; but they open inward first, and not even the most musclebound human will overcome the force holding them shut.  sliding patio door runnersAt a typical cruising altitude, up to eight pounds of pressure are pushing against every square inch of interior fuselage.  garage door springs tucson azThat’s over 1,100 pounds against each square foot of door. frameless shower doors memphis tnEven at low altitudes, where cabin pressure levels are much less, a meager 2 p.s.i. differential is still more than anyone can displace — even after six cups of coffee and the aggravation that comes with sitting behind a shrieking baby.  kitchen cabinet door magnets home depot

The doors are further held secure by a series of electrical and/or mechanical latches. So, while I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you enjoy being pummeled and placed in a choke-hold by panicked passengers, a person could, conceivably, sit there all day tugging on a door handle to his or her heart’s content.  garage door inserts home depotThe door is not going to open (though you might get a red light flashing in the cockpit, causing me to spill my Coke Zero).  windows and doors aberdeenshireYou would need a hydraulic jack, and TSA doesn’t allow those.pvc doors and windows malta On the 19-passenger turboprop I used to fly, the main cabin door had an inflatable seal around its inner sill. 

During flight the seal would inflate, helping to lock in cabin pressure while blocking out the racket from the engines.  Every now and then the seal would suffer a leak or puncture and begin to deflate, sometimes rapidly.  The resultant loss of pressurization was easily addressed and ultimately harmless, but the sudden noise — a great, hundred-decibel sucking sound together with the throb of two 1,100 horsepower engines only a few feet away — would startle the hell out of everybody on the plane, including me. On the ground the situation changes — as one would hope, with the possibility of an evacuation in mind.  During taxi, you will get the door to open.  You will also activate the door’s emergency escape slide.  As an aircraft approaches the gate, you will sometimes hear the cabin crew calling out “doors to manual” or “disarm doors.”  This has to do with overriding the automatic deployment function of the slides.  Those slides can unfurl with enough force to kill a person, and you don’t want them billowing onto the jet bridge or into a catering truck.

If you found this discussion helpful, chances are you’ll love the new bookMany electronic security professionals are confused about code requirements regarding the interconnection of their systems with doors used as fire exits — specifically, how they are to be properly locked and unlocked by the fire alarm system. However, a basic understanding of this important topic must precede any discussion of connecting the fire alarm system (IBC and IFC both have the fire alarm connection rules located in Chapter 10, “Means of Egress,” Section 1008). Part of the reason for confusion is that the ICC Building/Fire Codes misuse the terms “locked” and “unlocked.” Surprisingly, the term “locked” doesn’t even appear in the ICC Building/Fire Codes definition chapters, or egress chapters, or anywhere else, for that matter. It may help if you think of the word “locked” as used by the codes and standards, to mean “preventing free egress” since that is what they actually mean by “locking” a door — preventing it from being used to exit the building during an emergency.

Two Exceptions to the Rules It is against both codes to physically lock doors to prevent an occupant’s exit from a building, room or space; however, there are two exceptions. The first, although rare, restricts use of an exit by certain occupants of mental, penal or correctional facilities. Even then, this locking is allowed only if supervised personnel are continuously on duty and the employer has a fire official-approved emergency plan to evacuate these occupants during a fire. This locking option requires designated and trained staff to respond to the activation of a fire alarm by proceeding directly to any of these locked doors, and if necessary, using a key, card or keypad code, to release the locked exit(s) in the area of the fire. These ICC exit locking rules are distinguished from other building/fire code locking rules under “Special locking Arrangements in Group I-2” and “Locking Arrangements in Correctional Facilities.”The second exception, and most common way of legally preventing free egress from a building, occurs when a building is closed up and the owner turns a key to bolt the door from the outside when they leave to go home for the evening.

This too will prevent panic hardware from operating; however, this is preferred for security reasons since some emergency hardware has made it easy for burglars to merely slip in a bent coat hanger wire to pull the manual exit bar to gain entry. When a building is not in use, the owner is allowed to secure doors from both the inside and outside. Schools often chain doors when closed up at night. In large cities it is common for rolling shutters and padlocked gates to be used by businesses where the owner is concerned with burglaries or looting. A Knox-box outside the building could then be provided to allow for a fast, non-destructive entry to the building. These are the only two circumstances that allow exits to be physically locked to prevent free egress from a building, room or space for security reasons. If your application does not fall into one of the two above categories, then all exit access doors must operate without restrictions from the egress/exit side of the door.

You are always permitted to “lock” doors leading into a room, or space. Trying to get into a room or space is not what happens when occupants are fleeing a burning building — they want to get out, not in. Following that logic, for security reasons, entrance into buildings/rooms/spaces can be limited by the use of locks as long as the room/space is not part of the designated exit plan approved by the code officials. Electronic access control systems may be used to allow authorized persons to enter a locked door or leave an area without using the emergency exit hardware. Electronic access control systems merely provide an authorized entrance to a room or space, and may also record their leaving the room. However, the required panic bar on the interior side of the exit access doorway will always provide a fail-safe means to override any electric latch or access control system. Meaning, those persons without the authority to enter certain areas, will still have the power to leave any area regardless of the access control system.

Employees are taught that opening the exit door from the inside by using the emergency panic hardware, without first using a code, card or key, will cause an alarm to sound locally and possibly at a secure location for action to be taken by security personnel. Use of an access control system will allow authorized personnel to come and go; and the panic hardware will be available only for emergencies, by anyone. OSHA protects employees and sets basic rules that the building and fire codes must adhere to. OSHA states that “Employees must be able to open an exit route door from the inside at all times without keys, tools or special knowledge. A device such as a panic bar that locks only from the outside is permitted on exit discharge doors. Exit route doors must be free of any device or alarm that could restrict emergency use of the exit route if the device or alarm fails.” As an electronic security/life safety system professional, you must become familiar with the terms used in the codes and standards.

Do not assume you know what even the simplest term like “exit” means, without first reading and understanding the code, and its use in context. Otherwise, you may be surprised, confused, or someday sued or embarrassed due to your lack of knowledge. Here are a few key definitions, using the codes as a guide: Exit: The portion of an egress system between the exit access and the exit discharge or public way. Exit components include exterior exit doors at the level of exit discharge, interior exit stairways, interior exit ramps, exit passageways, exterior exit stairways, exterior exit ramps and horizontal exits. Exit Access: The portion of an egress system that leads from any occupied portion of a building or structure to an exit. An example would be a door from a guest room to the hotel’s hallway. Exit Access Doorway: A door or access point along the path of egress travel from an occupied room, area or space where the path of egress enters an intervening room, corridor, exit access stair or exit access ramp.

Examples include smoke doors dividing a corridor and the door to the exit stairway located at each end of a common hall.Exit Discharge: The portion of an egress system between the termination of an exit and a public way. Each exit discharge must lead directly outside or to a street, walkway, refuge area, public way or open space with access to the outside. Exit Passageway: An exit component that is separated from other interior spaces of a building or structure by fire resistance-rated construction and opening protectives. Exit passageways also provide for a protected path of egress travel in a horizontal direction to an exit or to the exit discharge. For example, the interior corridors in apartment buildings and interior hallways serving hotel guest rooms. Horizontal Exit: A path of egress travel from one building to an area in another building on approximately the same level, or a path of egress travel through or around a wall or partition to an area on approximately the same level in the same building, which affords safety from fire and smoke from the area of incidence and areas communicating therewith.