Fire Safety Compliance means keeping the people you serve safe and your property protected

Chuck Roylston is a qualified fire door inspector (NFPA 80 3.3.96) based in Roanoke, VA, bringing his extensive knowledge and resources to your team and facility ensuring your fire doors are thoroughly identified, inspected, and documented to the satisfaction of your local AHJ per NFPA 80 and any other applicable codes.

Fire Codes and Regulations have a long history in the United States.

• In 1631, John Winthrop, Governor of Boston outlawed the building of wooden chimneys and thatched roofs of homes.
• For over 125 years the National Fire Protection Association has been serving the community at large by providing consensus-based fire protection codes intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks.
• The codes they provide deliver common sense guidelines based on real life scenarios that ended tragically.

Iroquois Theatre – Chicago, IL

December 30, 1903

Spark from stage light ignites drapery.

602 deaths

Resulting New Fire Safety Regulations:

• Limits on maximum seating capacity.
• Improved paths of egress.
• Exit markings required along egress.
• Continuously lit exit signs.
• Emergency power for emergency lights and exits.
• Improved exit doors including the invention of panic bars.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory – New York, NY

March 25, 1911

Fire from discarded match or cigarette butt

146 deaths

Resulting New Fire Safety Regulations:

• Improved building access and egress
• Improved exiting from high rises.
• Doors open outward.
• Doors Unlocked during business hours.
• Availability of fire extinguishers.
• Installation of fire alarms and automatic sprinklers.
• Mandatory fire drills for buildings without sprinklers.
• Genesis for creation of NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code.

Cocoanut Grove Night Club – Boston, MA

November 28, 1942

Fire from a discarded match ignited the draperies in the basement.

492 Deaths

Resulting New Fire Safety Regulations:

• Fire Suppression Systems.
• Collapsible panels on revolving doors.
• Number of exit doors.
• Battery operated emergency lighting.
• Exit access width.
• Limits on combustible construction materials.
• Limits on interior furnishings.

Our Lady of Angels – Chicago, IL

December 1, 1958

Fire originated in a basement trash barrel.

95 Deaths

Resulting New Fire Safety Regulations:

• Fire Alarms in Schools.
• Automatic Sprinkler Systems.
• Self-Closing Exit doors that open outward.
• Maximum window egress heights.
• 1 hour fire resistant rated walls.
• Dedicated emergency lighting.
• Fire Doors at Stairwells.

MGM Grand Hotel/Casino – Las Vegas, NV

November 21, 1980

Caused by faulty wiring powering a refrigeration unit.

85 Deaths

700 Injured

Resulting New Fire Safety Regulations:

• Mandatory sprinkler systems in buildings of a certain size or stories.
• Re-entry from stairwells/stairwell unlocking.
• Smoke detectors in rooms and elevators.
• Exit maps in all hotel rooms.
• Provisions to limit the movement and spread of fire.