Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Panic Bolts - Emergency Exits Made Safe, Easy & Convenient


In any establishment, fire exits that are safely locked on normal days, yet easy to open in the case of emergencies is vastly essential. Thankfully, gone are the days of using a "glass breakable" tool which is at often times unsafe especially when accidentally opened by children. Nowadays, the use of ceramic panic bolts is becoming more and more widespread.

The panic bolt also called the panic bar is a tube that covers an emergency exit door from the interior. The two main functions of a panic bolt are first, to make sure that an exit in an emergency situation, in particular fires and earthquakes are easy - usually with a built in mechanism of "break in case of emergency" to open the door to a safe exit. Second, to make sure that while breaking out is easy, breaking in through the door would be pretty much impossible since the breaking mechanism comes from the interior. Panic bolts are then particularly helpful in power outages in which residents of an establishment will need to use the stairways to safely vacate the premises.

There are several factors that make a panic bolt more applicable and convenient for use in establishment's emergency exits. First of all, it is quite easy to break. Supplied with its own hammer and chain, the ceramic tube that keeps the lock secured makes sure that in any emergency situation, vacating the premises via the emergency exit isn't a problem at all. The "ball tipped" hammer is designed to break the tube with a reasonable amount of force. Secondly, since the tube is now ceramic wherein in the past, they would have used glass it is now safer especially for use in areas where there is food and small children liable to swallow the tiny shards such as in classrooms and school cafeterias. Third and lastly, the ceramic tube is easily replaced with refills. Thus, even if a devious pranker breaks the tube on a normal day unnoticed, the cost of buying a new ceramic tube for your panic bolts is relatively small.

In choosing the right panic bolt for your establishment, it would be a good idea to consult with the local fire stations and emergency authorities. (In your compliance to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) ratified in 2006) The main thing here to note of is that like the namesake of the device, when people are in a disaster situation they tend to PANIC. Thus, you want a good enough quality of a panic bolt that makes it convenient enough for people to figure out how to open the emergency exit door even in the midst of clouded judgment and hurried thinking.

It conclusion, it can be said that installation of emergency doors with panic bolts isn't the first thing on everyone's heads when it comes to safety measures, but in truth it proves itself quite essential, cost effective and adds significantly more security and peace of mind. This is most true, particularly in situations that calls for emergencies that require residents of an establishment to vacate the premises.




For more information about panic bolts please visit: http://www.fireprotectiononline.co.uk/fire-exit-security/



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