What You Should Know About Emergency Exit Doors

Next time you are in a restaurant, theatre, hotel, hospital, school or other public building and you see an exit door chained shut, or if it looks like an obstacle course because of boxes or chairs piled in front, take a big step towards safety and report it.  If the sign above the door says - EXIT - then obstructing or locking the door is not only unsafe, it is illegal. There are other ways to keep a building secure without endangering lives. Ever since the first exit device was patented in 1908, doors have been kept locked from the outside while letting people inside leave quickly and safely.

 

The exit panic devices you see on most doors do an excellent job of both securing a building and providing a safe way out in an emergency. Yet if the building owner chains or blocks the emergency in an attempt to secure premises or property, a fire could result in tragedy.