Electromagnetic locks are intended for use where there is a need for security additional to that provided by traditional exit hardware. They are not intended for indiscriminate use as alternative locking devices.
The design of these devices requires evaluation to ensure that their operation will be fail-safe in allowing exiting in the event of foreseeable emergencies.
If more than one locking device is used in a building, it is expected that one switch will release and reset all devices simultaneously. If more than one such switch is provided in a building, at least one switch must be installed in the annunciator panel located at the main entrance of the building or, in the case of a building within the scope of Subsection 3.2.6., in the central alarm and control facility for easy access of fire department personnel.
Most importantly, electromagnetic locks are not to be used where panic hardware must be installed. This will ensure that a large number of occupants can exit a building quickly in emergency situations created by either fire or non-fire conditions. It will also ensure that occupants in buildings containing highly hazardous substances can exit quickly unimpeded in an emergency.
In care and treatment facilities, such as hospitals and long-term care homes, and residential care facilities, however, because the occupant load is relatively low and the level of staff supervision is generally high, electromagnetic devices may be installed on exit doors at the bottom of exit stairways where panic hardware is required by code to maintain security where necessary.
When installed on doors in fire separations, electromagnetic locking devices must be used in conjunction with positive latching devices designed to hold the doors in the closed position since these locks do not incorporate latches and are released in an emergency. In a fire, keeping doors in fire separations closed is essential to control the spread of fire and smoke.
To enable exiting without delay (especially important in non-fire emergency situations), a manual station must be installed in close proximity to the door equipped with an electromagnetic locking device. The operation of this manual pull station will immediately release the electromagnetic locking device and, at the same time, activate the building fire alarm system.
Precautionary measures should be in place to ensure that by-pass switches would be deactivated at the completion of each fire alarm testing. An audible and a visual signal at the annunciator panel and at the monitory station should provide such assurance.