Panic bars

[Guest Eric W]

I was wondering if there is such a thing as a panic bar that can be fitted to an inward opening door? I can't change the door but it's recently been designated a fire exit. Any advice gratefully received.

[Tom Sutton]

All doors used to escape form a fire in your premises are fire doors, front, back and side doors, those that are not in regular use are required to be signed with a FIRE EXIT sign. The main front door may not be indicated with a FIRE EXIT sign but it is still a fire door and needs to be easily opened from the inside without the need to a key.

All final exit doors needs to be easily open-able without the need to resort to a key and panic bars are one method but there are others. The door you are concerned with, because it is inward opening, will be limited to 60 persons and if this is the situation then a method not using panics bars would be acceptable check out http://www.firesafe....nd-fire-safety/

[Guest Paul]

I live in a six year old block of 34 leasehold apartments, we have three final exit doors, one has the push-bar system and is used also as an entry door via an external key. The other two doors have a 'Break The Glass Tube' system and one of these doors is at the bottom of the stairs opening into the car park. Surely this glass tube system is unsuitable for a stairwell when a group of people, perhaps rushing down the stairs, would need to - smash the glass tube with the little hammer, wiggle the release bolt from the door frame if it had become stuck, avoid being cut, or even stumbling onto the broken glass, taking into account that the stairwell might be full of smoke. The push-bar is the easiest, quickest and safest option. Is the glass tube system still acceptable these days? I hope you can help us with this, we would like change from the tube system without too much argument from the management or landlord.

Thankyou for any advice you can offer.

[Tom Sutton]

The 'Break The Glass Tube' system is still acceptable and break glass bolts of today have been modified to use Ceramic Tubes for safe and accurate semi-automatic mechanism of panic bolt open system. The old type of break glass Redlam panic bolt using glass tube is no longer fit for today’s fire safety standards in Europe.

If the stairwell is full of smoke then there is something seriously wrong with your fire risk assessment because you should have access to an alternative means of escape.

The push-bar solution is easier, quicker to operate but is more likely to be abused and the Ceramic Tube is more secure, so it depends on the situation which is best.

[Guest Paul]

Hi Tom, thankyou for your answer. The reason I mentioned the possibility of the stairwell being full of smoke is connected to my previous question under 'Automatic Windows' - #4 #5. Just as a reminder, the large skylights in the stairwells do not open with the fire alarm, although they are connected to it. I have a key to the fire panel reset, and was originally told to inform the Lodge Manager if the skylights did not open when the alarm went off. Since then the story has changed and now I am told they are not meant to open automaticaly. I can't understand why a fireman would be expected to open these windows. Am I wrong to believe the skylights should open automatically?

I hope you can understand my confusion over this matter.

[Tom Sutton]

There are three types of ventilation systems, automatic, permanent and those operated by the fire service so you would have to speak to the fire risk assessor or the installer which type is in your premises.

When a Fire Risk assessor conducts a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) s/he assumes one staircase will be unusable due to fire or smoke logging and there should be an alternative means of escape for the occupants so the smoke logging problem you speak of should not occur.

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