Which option correctly differentiates Panic Hardware from Fire Exit Hardware?

Which option correctly differentiates Panic Hardware from Fire Exit Hardware?

• A. Panic Hardware releases the latch bolt on egress travel; Fire Exit Hardware may provide fire protection as part of a fire door assembly.
• B. Fire Exit Hardware releases the latch bolt on egress travel; Panic Hardware does not release latches.
• C. They are identical.
• D. Panic Hardware is used only on interior doors.

Answer: (A)

Panic hardware is the device that unlatches the door when the bar is pushed, allowing people to exit quickly. Fire exit hardware is a type of panic hardware specifically listed for fire-rated doors and integrated into a fire door assembly, so it can provide or maintain the door’s fire protection rating while still allowing egress. In other words, you use panic hardware for easy egress, but fire exit hardware carries the fire-rating requirement of the door assembly and is used on fire doors. That’s why the best choice says panic hardware releases the latch on egress travel, while fire exit hardware may provide fire protection as part of a fire door assembly. The other statements misstate the latch-release behavior or the scope of use (e.g., that panic hardware doesn’t release, or that all are identical, or that panic hardware is only for interior doors).

Panic hardware is the device that unlatches the door when the bar is pushed, allowing people to exit quickly. Fire exit hardware is a type of panic hardware specifically listed for fire-rated doors and integrated into a fire door assembly, so it can provide or maintain the door’s fire protection rating while still allowing egress. In other words, you use panic hardware for easy egress, but fire exit hardware carries the fire-rating requirement of the door assembly and is used on fire doors. That’s why the best choice says panic hardware releases the latch on egress travel, while fire exit hardware may provide fire protection as part of a fire door assembly. The other statements misstate the latch-release behavior or the scope of use (e.g., that panic hardware doesn’t release, or that all are identical, or that panic hardware is only for interior doors).