USGlass, Metal & Glazing - November 2006 (cont.)
“In the future, it will be difficult to defend in a
personal injury lawsuit a decision to save money
by leaving wired glass in impact areas or to
replace broken wired glass with the same product.”
—Kenneth T. Lumb,
Corboy & Demetrio, Chicago, IL
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“It’s not a huge issue for us,” says Scott Langcamp, superintendent. “We have a very small amount of wired glass in our buildings and where we do have wired glass would not be considered a hazardous or high-impact area.” “When we refurbished the high school several years ago, the main hallway and doors were replaced to be in compliance with the state’s fire-rated and safety impact codes,” adds Allen Reilly, who handles all the maintenance issues for the district.“Other than that,we are in code.We plan to replace any future broken wired glass in our buildings with glass that is within state code.”
Installation Changes
West Coast glazing contractors agree they have seen changes in operations and the products they are using since the elimination of wired glass in Oregon. “The biggest change for us was when we received word that an emergency stop work order on all wired glass projects was issued by the Washington State Building Code Council at its Friday, June 10, 2005, meeting,” recalls Gvido Bars, vice president of Sound Glass in Tacoma,Wash.With three locations, and backed by more than 23 years in operation, the order took this mid-size glazing contractor, as well as many others by surprise.“We were given this directive, but not any recommendations for acceptable alternatives,” Bars explains. “We had no objections to the change, especially in the interest of safety, and complied. We certainly did not want to assume any liability, especially with the jobs that were in progress at the time.We handled the situation then,much like we do today, we refer to the general contractor for direction. Because we work on all sorts of projects in the commercial sector and in many different jurisdictions, we leave it up to the general contractor to review with local building code officials for the type of firerated and safety-impact glazing materials that are required for each project and work from there.”
Bars continues, “We do know more today than we did then,”but adds that his company is still absorbing the costs on projects from a year ago in order to save the jobs and honor their initial quotes prior to the state’s ban on wired glass. “We still use wired glass in safety applications in jurisdictions that allow wired glass with approved safety coatings. Armorcoat®, 3M™, and LLumar® all have approved safety and security coatings for these applications. While these coatings double the cost of the glass at this time, they are a much more affordable option than other types of glazing materials on the market right now.”
Taking Orders from the Government
“While I am not an advocate of wired glass, I am much less an advocate of having government bureaucracy involved in dictating outrageous prices for fire-rated glass that ultimately hits the pockets of taxpayers,” says Brad Martin, owner of Martin Glass, a small glazing contractor serving the greater Portland, Ore., area for more than 20 years. “I recently withdrew my bid on a new construction project for our local fire station. The project required only three, 3-foot by 4-foot pieces of fire-rated glass. The prices I received from my suppliers for those windows alone were so outrageous that I just couldn’t, in my mind, justify the cost to the customer.”
Martin continues, “The wired glass issue isn’t new by any means. It’s been knocked around for years.Lawsuits are going to happen regardless, because we have become a litigious society.While I do not have an extensive background on the subject and am in favor of increased safety in our industry, I can’t say with certainty, at this time anyway,whether the code changes have made things better or worse for us.”
Steering Clear
“I wouldn’t use wired glass anywhere that is considered to be a safety glazing area today,”says Dave Norman of Dave Norman Glass in Clackamas, Ore., “It’s a non-issue for us because of what we know and the liability associated with the product. I’ve been in the trade long enough to know that years ago people were routinely maimed by going through all types of glass including wired glass, shower and patio doors and windows.While codes are important and have been passed to help guide us,we also have to use commonsense,” Norman emphasizes. “If we know something isn’t right, we shouldn’t do it. We shouldn’t need codes and lawyers to tell us to do the right thing. Even though the owners and architects may tell us what they want, in the end, I am in control of whether I choose to stick my neck out and risk everything just because my customer wants to push the envelope. I have no trouble saying ‘no’ and when I am able to give my customers the facts on this subject, they usually concur, if they aren’t aware already.”
Norman adds, “Because we are considered to be experts in our field,we can be held liable for what we should know or should have known.We know a lot more about the hazards of wired and impact-resistant glass today than we did ten years ago. In the past, the only rational for using wired glass was because of its fire rating and cost; today we have many more options from which to choose. Yes, the prices for fire-rated glass products are higher, but they are also safer and I found that the schools and those in need of firerated products in safety-glazing areas prefer to incur the
cost rather than risk the liability.”
On the Legal Side
The changes the glass industry and building industry have seen since Oregon’s elimination of wired glass have also fallen into legal issues.
“The effect of Greg Abel’s tireless advocacy has not been limited to Oregon,” says attorney Ken Lumb, who came across AFSG online and ultimately met Abel in 2004 through his research in preparation for a case he was working on involving a student at a suburban Chicago high school who was severely injured when his arm went through a wired glass panel in the school’s interior gymnasium door.“The ICC voted in 2003 to eliminate the longstanding exemption from impact-esistance standards enjoyed by wired glass for decades. This long overdue change was a monumental step forward for the safety of new buildings. Every building and construction professional is now conclusively on notice of the dangers of wired glass in impact areas. Though not all wired glass applications in all buildings are covered by the code, great pressure now exists to conform existing structures to the code changes.” Lumb adds, “This is particularly true in schools, athletic facilities and other buildings where children can be expected to come into contact with wired glass. The fact that a code does not require an existing wired glass application to be removed does not mean the application is safe. In the future, it will be difficult to defend in a personal injury lawsuit a decision to save money by leaving wired glass in impact areas or to replace broken wired glass with the same product.Greg Abel’s efforts have not only changed the future course of school construction, but have also placed enormous pressure on school districts and other property owners to make their existing properties safe.”
Moving Forward
Today,Abel, Brunette and a whole host of life safety and safe glass advocates from inside and outside the glass and glazing industry travel around the country speaking to industry professionals, architects, building inspectors and school personnel on fire and safety-rated glazing issues.
“There are still a lot of misconceptions about wired glass,” says Brunette. “For example, one misnomer is that retrofitting and/or installing new fire-rated and safetyglazing products that are up to code is cost prohibitive. This is not the case.These new products are designed for a life of some 50 years and when you average out that cost, it’s really not all that expensive to put in both a good product and a safe one. This code change and awareness is a good beginning.”Brunette adds,“It is a positive for the overall life safety issue where we can now utilize products that offer fire and impact protection.As we continue to address this issue, the next challenge that is gaining significant interest in our industry is radiant heat transfer.”
“Like many other professionals in this field, I never knew that wired glass was as dangerous as it is and once I learned of the dangers, I stopped using it,” notes Norman. “Even if they were unsuccessful in passing the new codes, I couldn’t,in good conscious, use this type of product knowing that someone could be severely injured or even killed by coming into contact with it.Rules and codes aside,we are still responsible.” |
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How Oregon's Fire-Rated
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On January 28, 2001, Eugene, Ore., resident Greg Abel received a call that would change the course of his life and ultimately lead to what some consider the biggest code reform movement in the history of the architectural glazing industry. That was the day Abel’s son Jarred was seriously injured when his hand impacted wired glass while he was playing basketball in a University of Oregon gym.
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Wired glass is a fire-rated glass that is installed in fire doors and windows
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Each year an estimated 2,500 American children and young adults suffer
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Greg Abel, chairman for Advocates for Safe Glass of Eugene, Ore., said that a North Carolina college student’s untimely death last February could have been prevented if impact-resistant glass had been specified for a window in his dorm.
Keith Smith, a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, died after crashing through a large wired glass fire-safety window in a high-traffic hallway at the dorm.
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