As a business owner or manager, you may or may
not already be aware of panic bars and how they function. Panic bars are a
common type of commercial door opening mechanism that exit to allow for an easy
exit from a door in case of an emergency. They also make it convenient to exit
a building during high traffic times. Many people use panic bars hundreds of
times a year without ever realizing it, either not paying attention as they
exit a business or assuming these door opening mechanisms come standard on
commercial doors. However, this important form of hardware has saved lives and
prevented injuries all across the world since its creation over a hundred years
ago. Panic bars are one type of commercial security to not overlook. Read on to
learn more about panic bars and why they’re so beneficial for businesses.
Why Panic Bars Exist & Why They’re So
Important
Panic bars were developed over a hundred years
ago as a response to numerous tragedies that had occurred in the years
preceding their creation. Many lives were lost due to a prevalence of
difficult-to-operate locks, and a preference for security over safety in many
businesses. Vonnegut Hardware Company was released the first panic bar after
one particular event, the Iroquois Theater fire, in which many children died
because they couldn’t exit the building quickly enough due to unsafe locks on
the doors. The inventor of the first panic bar, Carl Prinzler, employed this
company after he developed his model of a panic bar. He was supposed to be at
the Iroquois Theater that day and by a twist of fate was not present at the
fire. This deeply affected him and he set out to see what he could do to
prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.
Von Duprin, the name of the company that was
created to sell these panic bars, is still around today. They have developed
and engineered their panic bars over the years with many advances in making
them even more secure and easy to use. Some models that they sell still
resemble the original panic bars that were developed.
Benefits of Panic Bars
Panic bars are a type of door opening device that
has become synonymous with commercial security. Most commercial properties have
panic bars installed. These metal bars are affixed separately to the door,
usually horizontally across the center, and allow for effortless opening when
the bar is depressed.
Panic bars offer many benefits to businesses
across the state of Georgia, from small shops to large industrial complexes.
These benefits cannot be overstated and can greatly enhance both the safety and
security of a building. It’s no fluke that businesses have adopted panic bars
as the standard when it comes to exit hardware. Some of these positive
attributes include:
- Allows for a hands-free, unencumbered exit from a building
- Prevent stampedes and crowd rushes
- Keep the flow of traffic moving during rush hours
- Theft deterrence, when equipped with alarms
- Increase accessibility for patients with restrictions
- No decrease in the security of the outside of the door
- Rugged and able to withstand a lot of use over many years
