As several of the Listers have already mentioned, your local building and fire codes will tell you whether your need an emergency fire door or not, but if I was working there I'd want to have a second way out even if it wasn't absolutely necessary.   I think you need to put the health and safety of the staff who work in secured areas at a higher priority than the security of the collection even though the latter should be a very close second.   Fortunately, this is one area where you can have your cake and eat it too.

In our new (1993) museum building, we had to install an extra emergency exit crash door in collection storage in addition to the other normal-use doors.  It only works one way ... to let people out into an interior hall near a building emergency exit.  The latter is also alarmed and has a delay in opening unless it is triggered by a emergency system alarm.  This is to deal with the potential problem of a thief trying to escape thru an emergency exit.   

All the collection storage doors are alarmed.  My institution is large enough to use access cards rather than keys to get into secured areas.  I reccommend this if you can afford it.  It is much easier to keep up with who is doing what than with keys because every time the card is used, the system records the name of the card holder.  This makes the concept of indivudal responsibility and individual accountability a reality.  At our facility, entrance doors to all secured areas are also timed.  An alarm will go off in our security office if a door is open too long and a guard will check to see what is going on.  This has done away with propping doors.  

If a computerized system like ours is not feasible in your situation, I'd suggest that all the doors to secured areas be alarmed individually (so you can turn off one and not the others), separate from the facility alarm system  (so the collection storage alarms stay on during working hours) and in such a way that they can't be easily turned off.  I'd also suggerst that access to the turn-off key be restricted to a very limited number of senior staff.  You can establish a prior written documentation or log-in and log-out procedure that must be followed every time a door is dis-alarmed (is that an word??).  Again, this is a way of keeping up with who is doing what.  Finally, I'd suggerst that one of the designated senior staff personally turn off the alarm (rather than giving the key to somebody else) and turn the alarm back on at a designated time before the end of the day.  

If you haven't already done so, I'd suggest you contact your local fire department and ask for assistance from them.  Most fire department are delighted to work with museums to make both the staff and collection areas as safe as possible.   Also, ask your insurance company about assistance with risk management.  Most of the major carriers (if not the local agencies) have risk managers who will work with their customers for free.  Security alarm systems are getting better and more innovative all the time.  Check out what's available from the security companies.  Somebody will have a system that fits your needs and budget.


Linda Bitley
Interim Registrar
Atlanta History Center
130 West paces Ferry Road, NW
Atlanta, GA 30305-1366
T:  404/814-4053
E:  [log in to unmask]
W: atlantahistory.net 

>>> TK Vancura <[log in to unmask]> 05/14 1:47 PM >>>
I am designing a collections storage space and would appreciate opinions
on the pros and cons of including a fire exit. The storage area will be
about 1200 sq. ft. normally accessible through double doors from an
interior hallway.  Is it prudent to have no other way to get in or out?

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