Church locked all doors

DOTHEDOG

Church locked all doors during confirmation,i thought that was against the rules health and safety,it was the mervue church,at one stage one of the volunteers threathened a man if he kept going on about the doors he would call the guards..

surely this is not right

ScumLord

As long as the doors can be opened easily from the inside, ie. Fire doors it should be fine. If they locked those doors they did break the law. It wouldn't surprise me, most places don't take fire safety seriously. Our local nightclub used to have chains on all the fire exits.

Although the risk of a church going on fire would be pretty slim I'd say. Even with so many candles the stone work would keep it relatively safe.

Dunjohn

Why were they locked?

DOTHEDOG

it was confirmation day friday gone everyone was locked inside an they weren't letting anyone in either,if there was a fire it would be a [holy disaster]lol
excuse the expression imagine about 2 thousand people trying to get out

snubbleste

again..Why were they locked? Or were they just closed?

Does Mervue church really hold about two thousand people?

biko

Wow 2000! That's a lot of people in one small church.
Did you ask the staff about the door locking? I haven't been in years, maybe this is common practise now.

DOTHEDOG

some fella was arqueing the point why they were locked an one of the volenteers threw him out an says he would call the guards

maybe not 2000 people but all seats were taken also people standin all around

also that church ain't that small biko!!

ScumLord

biko wrote: »

Wow 2000! That's a lot of people in one small church.
Did you ask the staff about the door locking? I haven't been in years, maybe this is common practise now.

It shouldn't be, I suppose it depends on how churches are classified but any factory, shop, pub or any place open to the public has to have an evacuation plan and has to have clear ways to exit the building. It's a legal requirement any business would get shut down for breaking any of these rules.

I'd report them for sure, just like I reported my local church for illegally broadcasting mass and ruining my radio signal.

Mrs OBumble

DOTHEDOG wrote: »

maybe not 2000 people but all seats were taken also people standin all around

I don't have any knowledge about the situation ... but taking a guess, maybe they locked the doors because the church was full and it was the only way to stop more people from entering the building and creating a serious crush hazard?

Not saying that this is the right thing to do (except as others have said, the fire-exit doors should be built to open from the inside anyway), but I can understand how it could happen: the madness that surrounds communion and confirmation here never ceases to amaze me.

jugger

DOTHEDOG wrote: »

one of the volunteers threathened a man if he kept going on about the doors he would call the guards..surely this is not right

were the volunteers in question standing beside the door ready to open it if needed ????

i agree with mary the church could have been full and allowing more in could have been a hazzard too in which case closed doors with volunteers ready to open them if needed could have been the lesser evil

drum!

Sounds like The CC are getting really desperate!

ScumLord

JustMary wrote: »

I don't have any knowledge about the situation ... but taking a guess, maybe they locked the doors because the church was full and it was the only way to stop more people from entering the building and creating a serious crush hazard?

That would be a first, back in the day they'd wedge the place out the door and if they have no consideration for fire safety I don't see how they'd have any consideration for overcrowding safety which is probably based in making sure there's enough room for people to escape from a fire. So it's all under the same umbrella, they can't clam their breaking one rule to protect another one when the two are related and both are necessary.

nuac

1. Doors should never be locked in such a situation.

2. If too many were coming in, stewards should have been posted to control numbers. Those stewards should have training in fire or other emergency evacuation.

3. afaik Fire Requlations provide that there be sufficient exits to allow everybody out within 90 seconds. allowing for one of the exits to be blocked.

4. Churches should not allow people to stand near exits as this could block them.

5. Courts are also often in breach of these regulations - I have seen courthouses so crowded as to be a fire hazard.

Mrs OBumble

nuac wrote: »

1. Doors should never be locked in such a situation.

2. If too many were coming in, stewards should have been posted to control numbers. Those stewards should have training in fire or other emergency evacuation.

3. afaik Fire Requlations provide that there be sufficient exits to allow everybody out within 90 seconds. allowing for one of the exits to be blocked.

Agree totally.

However getting Irish people to follow the directions of wardens in a church would be quite a feat: I wouldn't fancy being an usher telling a burly MOTC that he couldn't attend his nephew's communion 'cos there are too many people in the building.

snubbleste

You should look forward to being a civic-minded stewart and be the bearer of vile and pressing news to the said burly navvy prior to engaging in an altercation over the seating arrangements

Whest

Fr Willie Cummins wont be happy about the negative comments about his patch!!

TheCosmicFrog

If there's one thing that I will not let go, it's fire safety. I've seen an awful lot of ignorance in this country in relation to something so simple. These systems are in place to keep us safe. It's almost like nobody learned anything from the Stardust nightclub disaster.

OP, doors should never, ever be locked in a public building. They can be locked to the outside, but should always have a "bar" opening system on the inside. If this was not the case, then they should not have been locked.

If you do not report this, there's every chance this will happen again and someone could die. Please do the right thing.

Bobeagleburger

A last desperate act from the CC !

Mrs OBumble

TheCosmicFrog wrote: »

OP, doors should never, ever be locked in a public building. They can be locked to the outside, but should always have a "bar" opening system on the inside. If this was not the case, then they should not have been locked.

If you do not report this, there's every chance this will happen again and someone could die. Please do the right thing.

CosmicFrog, I agree totally. But who should it be reported to?

FWIW, I've been surprised by some of the commercial buildings here: newish buildings in business parks where the main doors are deadlocked at nights and weekends. There are crash-bars on the fire-exits at either end of the building, but if the main doors in the middle of the building are locked they can only be opened with a key - and there's no access from the middle to the fire doors at the end of the floor. Was quite shocked when I realised the implications .. but I guess it must be legal :-(

TheCosmicFrog

JustMary wrote: »

CosmicFrog, I agree totally. But who should it be reported to?

FWIW, I've been surprised by some of the commercial buildings here: newish buildings in business parks where the main doors are deadlocked at nights and weekends. There are crash-bars on the fire-exits at either end of the building, but if the main doors in the middle of the building are locked they can only be opened with a key - and there's no access from the middle to the fire doors at the end of the floor. Was quite shocked when I realised the implications .. but I guess it must be legal :-(

I imagine the Fire Station would be a good place to start. They could at least point you in the right direction. They also wouldn't take this too lightly. They know the implications of fire.

ScumLord

http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Fire/

Local Authority.