Chances are that you’ve been in a school, office building, hospital and shopping mall and used a panic bar.
This is the door that is used to safely move large groups of people in
and out. It’s usually an exit door that you just press a bar on to
open. You may also hear panic bars referred to as crash bars. They are
very important in safety during an emergency evaluation situation. In
many cases, they have helped to save lives. Prior to panic bars being
designed many tragic incidents occurred where people were trapped and
couldn’t get out. The panic bar has a spring-loaded bar that is
horizontally installed across the inside of your door. Once someone
pushes the bar, it unlatches the lock. This makes it easy to quickly
move out of the building without everyone stomping on each other to get
out.
There is a reason why they
have been installed in larger buildings. When you consider the amount
of people that are in a larger facility, such as a hospital, it would
be very important to make sure people move quickly without panicking. If
people feel trapped they will panic. If they see a panic door that
easily opens, they are less likely prone to panic. If you don’t have
the right type of doors loss of life can occur during an emergency. If
you have a lot of people running for the door at the same time and then
you have people on the other side trying to run back in to get their
friends or family out, this could be dangerous. With a panic bar the
crowd can only move in one direction, out. In addition to this, imagine
how terrible it might be if people were to be killed because they
couldn’t get out.
The panic bar came into
existence due to a tragedy back in the 1800’s when 180 children died
because they were not able to safely get out of the building they were
in. Also, in the early 1900’s, a Chicago fire killed 600 people in a
theater. The loss of life prompted someone to address this problem. As a
result the panic bar was created.
There are benefits to having this type of door than what is mentioned above, consider the following.
Various Options – Commercial
business owners can choose from different types of panic bars. Some
have alarms that will sound to let someone know that unauthorized
exiting is occurring. There is also a cross bar panic bar and vertical.
You can also find them at different prices and sizes. You’ll have to
make sure you have the right type of panic bar placed on your door
based on its size and the size of your facility.
Affordable - After
considering some of the other things that we install at Quality
Locksmith Highland Park in Highland Park, IL, you have to admit that a
$100 panic door isn’t a bad deal. Even the most expensive model will
only cost a person approximately $300. When you have more than one
panic bar installed in your commercial business, a locksmith may offer
you an even better price. Don’t hesitate to inquire about pricing prior
to installation.
Safety – The major benefit
of panic bars is for safety purposes. It helps to effectively evacuate
people without anyone being harmed. Since panic bars are installed on
the interior of the door, no one from the outside can get inside. This
helps to keep out people who may want to get inside to do harm to
someone, including you. Again, there are some that will alert you to
someone attempting to enter the building from the wrong side of the
door. To be certain that your panic bar is working properly, you should
only have it installed by a professional locksmith who has experience.
