No, this device is not anything different than chain and a padlock in egress doors..... unfortunately, fire codes and security don't always go hand in hand.
It is unfortunate with the events concerning schools and gun laws....but the codes (life safety) were developed and based on lives that have been lost in several fires...school violence is relatively new and a low number in the number of lives lost.
Refer to a Camden, SC Cleveland school fire where 73 kids lost their lives in a fire on May 17,1923.... add a few more -A 1915 school fire in Peabody, Mass., a few miles west of Salem and Marblehead, killed 21 girls as fire swept through the multi-story building.
The building had no fire escape; however, the Sisters who ran the Catholic school for girls routinely conducted fire drills. St. John School had made news in The State newspaper and on the radio, yet, no efforts were made nationwide to standardize fire fighting or fire safety procedures.
A similar incident, though much deadlier, had occurred in 1908 in Collinwood, Ohio, when a school building caught fire and 172 students and teachers died. School superintendents around the land knew of these things, yet establishing a nationwide set of standards seemed beyond the scope of the times.
Roll forward for a few years - Our Lady of the Angels fire December 1, 1958 in Chicago Illinois - A total of 92 pupils and 3 nuns lost their lives when smoke, heat, and fire cut off their normal means of escape through corridors and stairways.
In the few fire mentioned - 361 people lost their lives in fires at a school or educational institution - Columbine and Newtown numbers are 39 fatalities..... The Fire Codes which have been developed over time with a significant number of lives lost is quickly overshadowed by the new media frenzy and the knee jerk reactions thinking that something must be done......
I agree that changes are needed to be made - but not in locking our kids in schools which are becoming more penal in appearances and operations - How bout hurricane glass, secured doors, and limited ingress into buildings......and a school resource officer.(a trained professional who can help with disciplinary and fights at schools).
Deterrence and building upgrades would enhance building security while still maintaining the ability to egress in times of emergencies. Schools and Daycares have been labeled as soft targets since before the world trade center events --- but nothing is wanting to be done until Newtown?? (11 years)........
I do want to express sorrow to the families affected in Newtown, CT. I also want to remember the 361 lives lost to fire since 1908......... we solved one problem but we need to figure out how to solve this problem as well -- mental health, gun control, etc..... we all have opinions but we need to focus on one issue at a time in order to make changes...otherwise it becomes to convoluted and nothing gets accomplished...
Returning now to the regularly schedule forum......
