Emergency Exit Locks

Having emergency exits throughout your business isn’t just a good safety standard — it’s a federal requirement. A proper emergency exit will help occupants quickly and safely vacate the premises in the event of a fire, hurricane, earthquake, or burglary. An emergency exit can’t be just like a regular door to the outside (also known as an egress door) but must have special hardware that allows for easy exiting during an emergency while still being secure from outside access.

Use the Professionals

Our professional technicians at Robin Locksmith can install the correct hardware to keep your staff and customers safe while meeting local and federal regulations. 

Emergency Exit Locks

In order for a fire exit door to fulfill its function, it should allow for a quick and efficient exit from the building. This means that anyone should be able to use it without specialized equipment or knowledge. As such, doors requiring tools such as keys or keycards, doors with locking chains, doors that require pinching or twisting, or doors that require more than one person to open do not meet the requirements to function as an escape door. 

This ensures that children and people with limited mobility will be able to exit, as will anyone else who may be in a panicked state or limited by smoke or darkness.

Free Egress Doors

In most commercial business cases, an emergency exit door should be a free egress door. This means that the door will open to the outside with just a single motion and without delay. Most free egress doors have an emergency lever or panic bar installed, also known as a panic lock, crash bar, or panic device. Push bars for doors allow for swift opening and quick evacuation. If you have electric locks, such as electric strikes, these can still be converted to free egress locks.

Delayed Egress Doors

Delayed egress doors are permitted for certain types of institutional buildings, such as healthcare facilities, and allow for doors to release the locking mechanism 15 or 30 seconds after someone tries to open the door. These types of doors can help prevent theft. Delayed egress doors have additional requirements to meet safety standards, including that locks must be fail-safe and release without delay when fire safety systems are activated. 

Fire alarm and sprinkler systems must also be installed in the building, and proper signage, alarms, and lighting must be present at the delayed egress doors. These types of doors cannot be installed in educational buildings or buildings where highly hazardous activities, such as assembly, occur.

Fire-Rated Doors

In the case of a fire, the ability to safely leave a building is paramount, but it is not the only important aspect of a fire escape door.

A fire-rated door can help seal off an area and prevent the spread of fire. In order for a door to be fire-rated, it must be constructed out of fire-resistant materials and create a secure closure in order to prevent the spread of smoke and fire. 

These doors are usually located inside a building rather than directly leading to the outdoors. They often lead to stairwells, and common hallways, and connect separate areas throughout the building. Fire-rated doors are an important aspect of building security and can make a difference in occupants getting out safely and protecting other sections of the building from destruction.

How Many Emergency Exits Are Required In A Building?

According to OSHA guidelines, most workplaces need to have at least two emergency exits to allow for all building occupants to evacuate quickly and safely. However, depending on the size and arrangement of the building and the number of employees, additional exits may be required.

Emergency Exit Locks Selection & Installation

There are many different styles and levels of security when it comes to selecting panic locks, and installing panic locks should be entrusted to professional locksmiths only. Our team at Robin Locksmith can install locks and doors to adhere to the strictest regulations to ensure that the doors work correctly when they’re needed and that your company doesn’t face any fines for not meeting standards.

Contact us today to request a free, no-obligation quote for emergency exit lock installation or any of our other services to ensure that your business is secure throughout.