Annual Fundraising Campaign

7CentsPerDayWith Everyone Giving a Little, We can Accomplish a lot.

The Door Security & Safety Foundation strives to raise public awareness of door safety and security issues through education and advocacy efforts with the individuals and organizations that design the life safety specifications for the architectural openings of schools, nursing homes, hospitals and commercial buildings, our objective is to create and maintain a safe environment for all occupants entering, exiting and residing within these facilities.

We are seeing specifications that require the inspection of all fire door assemblies by individuals with knowledge of the opening before acceptance will take place by the building owner.

CREATING AWARENESS:
The Foundation promotes awareness of activities and efforts that make a real financial impact on this industry:

  • Health care facilities in New York are doing inspections and recently placed a $35,000 order for upgrades to fire-rated openings.
  • Inspections taking place in Clark County, NV. These inspections are based on and actually exceed the requirements of NFPA 80.
  • Health care inspections in long-term health care facilities are taking place in the Orlando area because of our Foundation training.
  • Because of the efforts of a local distributor, AHJ training sessions were held in the St. Louis area that have provided direct feedback from fire officials on violations and corrective action that needs to take place.
The greater the understanding of the fire-rated opening and the purpose of an inspection, the more likely the fire-rated opening will be brought into compliance with the fire code through the upgrade of existing products.

The Foundation can be the main source of this education.

CONDUCTING ACTIVITIES:
The majority of the Foundation’s work is accomplished under a separate budget from DHI. This is why the Foundation needs your support.  Additional financial resources allow us to continue the work we have started on behalf of this industry. Highlights of activities conducted to date include:

  • Creation of an industry task force to coincide with the adoption of the fire door inspection program in California, New York and Pennsylvania. These task forces will be responsible for providing training solutions to coincide with the adoption of NFPA 80. Adoption means very little if not enforced.

Training = enforcement. Enforcement = Improved life safety solutions.

  • Developing a partnership with an association in Pennsylvania that is a statewide organization for code officials. We will reach hundreds of code officials through our onsite training efforts. Pennsylvania has officially adopted IFC 2009, which means they have adopted the fire door inspection standard. This is very important. We have to create the awareness that leads to enforcement. Adoption of codes without enforcement is meaningless.

No enforcement = No upgrade of existing products.

  • Implementing a fire door program in Missouri that is reaching hundreds of fire and building code officials. Through a similar training format in Missouri conducted by the fire stopping sector, the enforcement of fire stopping standards caused the sales of product from a local distributor to spike so that what they used to sell in a year became what they sold in one month!
  • Working with Chief Paul Martin, head of the Bureau of Fire Prevention with the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control. Chief Martin serves as a principle architect of New York State’s nationally acclaimed Campus Fire Safety Program. Under Chief Martin’s guidance, the staff of the Bureau of Fire Prevention is primarily responsible for enforcement of the laws and regulations of the state regarding fire safety. Our discussions have centered on our involvement for training of college officials that will create the awareness for both fire safety and security.
  • Ramping up our efforts to provide training sessions within the healthcare sector. We have already had training sessions in New York and Florida. On February 26th the Foundation instructed over 80 healthcare engineers in Orlando who, at the end of class, were told they will be tasked with inspecting and reporting on the fire-rated opening.
  • Conducting a class in Las Vegas to over 100+ code officials and 100 building owners. Additional classes for healthcare officials in the Orlando, FL area are being planned, as are AHJ classes in Missouri where the Foundation has already instructed over 120+ code officials since the beginning of the year.
  • Training program April in Indianapolis with the Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy. This unsolicited call from officials in Indianapolis is a direct result of our joint effort with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Justice Department and the door security training program that we developed for training of college campus resource officers. Because of this joint effort, we now have access to a security training program where we can reach college security officials across the country. This online training will instruct attendees on the importance the door opening plays in life safety and security.
  • Positioned as an authority for training and awareness in regards to the fire door inspection program. Enforcement will not happen without education and training – both of which provide a fundamental understanding of the fire-rated opening and what to look for during an inspection. All of the Foundation’s training sessions have the potential to affect behavior across the country. We have seen first-hand how these efforts are taking hold and changing behavior.
We have seen first-hand how these efforts are taking hold and changing behavior.
This is why the Foundation needs your support.

The greater the understanding of the fire-rated opening and the purpose of an inspection, the more likely the fire-rated opening will be brought into compliance with the fire code through the upgrade of existing products.

STATES ADOPTING NFPA 80 STANDARDS (2007 edition)
California and Pennsylvania have already adopted the 2007 NFPA 80 standard, which mandates the annual inspections of fire-rated openings.  New York is on track to adopt the standard by the end of 2010. Other states that are on track for fire door inspections because of their adoption of NFAP 80 include:

  • West Virginia
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • New Jersey
  • Hawaii
  • Maryland
  • New Hampshire
  • Oregon
  • Oklahoma
  • Illinois
  • Iowa
  • Washington state (effective July 1, 2010)
  • Utah (effective July 1, 2010)

Cities that are actively engaged in fire door inspections – where the state has not officially adopted the new NFPA 80 standard include:

  • Denver
  • Las Vegas
  • St. Louis area

EDUCATING THE BUILDING COMMUNITY
The Foundation has developed or is the process of developing relationships in each of the above mentioned states to help facilitate the education and awareness of key personnel.

Fire door training classes conducted in 2010:

  • St. Louis area – three separate sessions that attracted over 120 fire and building code officials.
  • Orlando – health care facility engineers - Association of Health Care Administrators (AHCA)
  • Illinois – health care plan reviewers, hospital inspectors, long-term healthcare inspectors.
  • Clark County, NV – Hotel/casino facility engineers, risk management personnel, Clark County building code officials (2 classes)
  • New Jersey – In partnership with Kean University Fire College – Over 100 fire officials attended BOTH sessions

Quotes from attendees of the healthcare training session that took place in Orlando on Feb. 26th:

“This was a highly successful class. Instructors kept students active and engaged.”

“Best class we have had in 12 years.”

“We are already out implementing what we were taught in your class.”

Upcoming fire door training sessions:

  • California, in partnership with the State Fire Marshal’s Office. (3rd quarter, 2010)
  • California health care inspectors (July ’10)
  • New York Building Code Officials conference in September 2010
  • College campus fire officials using a nationwide webinar format. In partnership with the Center for Campus Fire Safety.
  • College campus in Albany, New York (3rd quarter, 2010)
  • Pennsylvania building code officials.
  • Joint Commission training in January of 2011
  • All states that have adopted NFPA 80. (over the next year)

ACHIEVING RESULTS
We are so close to a tipping point – the point where events trigger exponential results. We can see our efforts paying off. With your support, you will help continue to maintain our leadership position in providing education and creating awareness for all the good this industry does.

Please provide your support today to keep this momentum going forward…

HOW CAN 7 Cents Per Day Help?
In these challenging economic times for the door and hardware industry, please consider contributing 48 cents a week to help the Foundation continue its work. A contribution of $25 a year averages out to about 48 cents a week and less than 7 cents per day.

The majority of what the Foundation does is funded by the generous support of DHI member companies and individuals like you – apart from the yearly fees and dues that are paid to DHI. The Foundation operates under its own budget without any type of membership dues since we are considered a charitable organization.

If every DHI member pledges $25 above and beyond their normal DHI dues, the Foundation will be able to continue the vital work it has started.
The Foundation IS making a difference, but our efforts can only continue with your show of support.

Donate

With everyone giving a little, we WILL accomplish a lot.