Has any one done a prison lately? We have one under construction and they refuse to install panic bars on the doors of the electrical room. It is a 480 volt 2200 amp service.
Apparently the American Jailers association doesn't allow this. I will get more information later but just was curious.
I would'nt want to be in this room in the event of a serious arc flash explosion, with the locks they have on the doors.

We have a private prison under construction in our county now. When I did the plan review it was approved as noted. The notes were in reference to that ART. I guess we will see what happens when they get to that point.

Sorry this is an I3 occupancy and although there are some exceptions obviously for locked egress the Electrical room is not one of them. How did this get past plan review. It must have panic hardware. End of story.

Now for the devil's advocate. I love this when I'm not the Inspector.
Alternate material & methods as allowed by the FBC Chapter #1.
The required doors can be opened fully against the wall and hardware has been provided so that the doors can latched/locked open.Evey Electrician carries locks for lockout tagout. Open the doors and look it in the open position.

I was the electrical inspector for the construction of the 7 story jail in Pinellas County. They had the panic hardware. I never heard of the American Jailer's Association and I doubt you are going to get adequate documentation from such.

I would think the nec takes precedence.

The FBC is the Code not the NEC. It just uses the portions of the NEC that it wants. The admin Chap. clearly states that alternative methods that are equal to or greater can be utilized.If indeed there was a legitimate reason why panic hardware couldn't be used I would allow this with extensive documentation. I wouldn't allow it just because they didn't want to do it.

I have a copy of the Florida Model Jail Standards (Jan. 2008). It may not answer all of your questions but it is good reading. It is a pdf but I don't see a way to attach it. I can email it to anyone interested.

I can put it on my web site if you like. Then everyone can see it

gfretwell@aol.com

I sent it as an attachment to an email.

The manual is now here

http://gfretwell.com/electrical/JAILS%20Manual_-_0101087.pdf

Thank you George. And thank you Ruben for the sticky.

OK here's the latest. The association I was referring to is the American correctional association. They are the ones that acredit the building. The architect is referring to FBC 408.4 which states:

The architect goes on to say:
This electrical room has no other doors into it other than the exterior door.
What say all!!

I say no. The panic hardware is installed inside the electrical room and is used for emergency exit. Only maintenance personal will be in the electrical room not inmates. The outside of the door will still be lockable so an inmate can't enter the electrical room without someone unlocking the door anyway.

The electrical code is more stringent on this subject in that it requires panic hardware for emergency exit and in my opinion overrides the FBC.

Here's a thought(Thinking with Lawyer hat on) if the electrical room is larger than the required working space 110.26(C) do you have to install panic hardware. the article refers only to the required working "space". Opinions?

That's the difference in 2005 110.26(c) and 2008 110.26(c) 2008 added 110.26(C))(3)Personnel Doors less than 25ft from the nearest edge of the working space

The 2005 and 2008 requires panic hardware and that has nothing to do with the required working space. Panic hardware is required based only on equipment ampacity rating. The 25ft rule from the 2008 code has nothing to do with the working space only the location of the egress door to the equipment.

Since the electrical room egress door is the only door and does not lead to the jail area I feel the comment by the architect is unfounded.

I would agree that the architect is unfounded, and maybe I'm reading that section wrong but I have read this over and over again, what I get from the 05 is that egress from the workspace for large equipment requires panic hardware when there is a personnel door(s) an entrance to the workspace. And when I read the 08 and the Analysis of Changes, I see the difference

I agree with you Mike but this is going to be a fight and I have limited time due to politcial pressure to get the jail opened.
,
That statement really cracks me up.But I am sticking to my guns.

I said no before. Still say no. There is no substantiation for an alternate method.