by Thom Zaremba, shareholder at Roetzel & Andress
This is part two of a three-part blog.
In this blog, we continue to examine what building codes are doing to make building occupants safer from active shooters. Even though active shooters have targeted occupants in the built environment for years, building codes have yet to include requirements that could help make buildings safer. Hopefully, that is about to change!
Recently, ASTM published F3561, a “Standard Test Method for Forced-Entry-Resistance of Fenestration Systems After Simulated Active Shooter Attack.”
Why is this new standard important? From my last blog, you may recall that one impediment slowing changes to building codes is the lack of a consensus standard capable of moving the process forward. Why is that an impediment? Because test standards are critical to building safety.
For example, building designers know how to reliably build egress systems that allow occupants to safely exit a burning building because egress systems are tested to a uniform fire-resistance standard, namely, ASTM E119. Likewise, ASTM F3561 is a test standard that, when used, would help building designers by uniformly rating the ability of glass doors, windows and other similar assemblies used in ingress systems to resist forced entry by active shooters.
ASTM E119 was adopted to assist designers in constructing egress systems tested to a uniform fire-resistance standard. If ASTM F3561 is adopted, it could assist building designers in constructing ingress systems that have been tested and rated to a uniform standard of simulated forced-entry resistance! But first, we need to see if the details of ASTM F3561 support its adoption by the building codes.
(Note: At this writing, the ASTM Committee is balloting proposed changes to the standard that are not addressed here).
What is the standard, and how is it assessed?
ASTM F3561 is a universal standard developed to test the ability of windows, doors, glazed panels and similar assemblies to resist entry by an armed assailant. Forced entry is first simulated by gunfire to weaken the assembly and then by mechanically driven impacts on the weakened assembly.
The mechanical impacts are generated using an impactor on a pendulum, similar in concept to the kind developed for ANSI Z97.1 and 16 CFR 1201 to test whether glazing breaks safely when subjected to human impact. The impactor strikes the weakened glass with a known level of force. Depending on their condition after testing, the tested window, door or other assembly will be assigned a forced entry resistance rating from one—the lowest—to eight—the highest.
For example, look at an ASTM F3561 test of a glass door assembly designed for an entrance vestibule. The test requires three identically constructed, full-size assemblies representative of the one intended for use in the building, including all required hardware. The first two specimens are tested with 10 shots from ballistic missiles followed by mechanical impacts, all aimed at the glazing. The third specimen is tested with five shots from ballistic missiles followed by mechanical impacts, only this time, all aimed at the locking mechanism.
After the three specimens are tested, the laboratory compares their condition to the acceptance criteria specified in the test standard. It assigns the assembly a grade of forced-entry resistance from one to eight. The assembly manufacturer could then make that grade available to building designers to provide them with a uniform basis for comparing the ability of different assemblies to resist attempts by an active shooter to force entry into a building.
My next blog, the last in this three-blog series, will examine how the glass industry plans to use ASTM F3561 to change the building code. If adopted, this would make our schools safer from the threat of active shooters.