Read-aloud huddle script
Imagine this hypothetical office delivery: someone wedges open the fire door into an enclosed exit stair. Does the door still meet its required closing function? No. OSHA requires an opening into an exit to have a self-closing fire door that remains closed or closes automatically in an emergency when the fire or employee alarm sounds. A wedge that prevents closure defeats that function. This rule concerns the door protecting the exit, not every office door. OSHA 1910.36(a)(3)
Fire doors must stay in proper working order at all times. Today's adaptable planning prompt: identify the exit-stair fire door with facilities, report anything preventing it from closing, and assign someone to verify the correction. Have facilities confirm any automatic closing arrangement; an open door alone does not establish a defect. OSHA 1910.37(a)(4)
Two myths to discuss
- Myth: 'A wedge is fine for a short delivery.' Reality: The closing requirement has no short-delivery exception. Plan the delivery so it does not defeat the fire door's closing function. OSHA 1910.36(a)(3)
- Myth: 'Every open fire door is defective.' Reality: The standard permits automatic closing in an emergency upon the fire or employee alarm. Ask facilities to verify the installed arrangement; do not assume a wedge is equivalent. OSHA 1910.36(a)(3)
Adaptable discussion prompts: What delivery habit could interfere with this door closing? How could we change that habit? Confirm the team's stop-work, escalation, and no-retaliation procedures for raising this concern.
Today's adaptable action checklist
Consider controls in hierarchy order: elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative, then PPE. Elimination: could the delivery workflow remove the need to prop this door? This removes interference, not the fire hazard. Substitution: no replacement for the required fire-door function is proposed. Engineering: have facilities verify the closer or automatic closing arrangement. Administrative: agree on delivery practices, reporting, and follow-up. PPE: none is proposed for this door-function problem. What is the highest-order feasible control today? These are adaptable options using OSHA's control-selection guidance and the door requirements above. OSHA: Hazard Prevention and Control
Agree on each owner and due time locally, and plan how to verify the result. Leave hardware adjustments and alarm-system testing to facilities under applicable procedures. OSHA: Hazard Prevention and Control
- Identify the door protecting the enclosed exit stair with facilities; ask whether it normally remains closed or closes automatically on the alarm. Owner: Assign locally Due: Agree before the next delivery
- Observe for wedges or other interference with closing. Report concerns through the agreed channel and plan a delivery method that preserves the door's closing function. Owner: Assign locally Due: Agree today; raise observed interference promptly
- Obtain facilities verification of proper door function for any reported concern, and record the result before marking the issue resolved. Owner: Assign a follow-up owner locally Due: Agree a verification deadline today
Check understanding and close the loop
Verification question: What will facilities check to confirm that the door's closing arrangement works as intended?
Close-the-loop question: Who will report the verified result back to the team, and by when?
Comprehension check: May a wedge prevent an exit-stair fire door from closing? No; the door must remain closed or close automatically in an emergency when the fire or employee alarm sounds.
Sources
- 1910.36(a)(3): Fire doors protecting openings into an exit — OSHA. Accessed 2026-10-01. osha.gov
- 1910.37(a)(4): Emergency safeguards must remain in working order — OSHA. Accessed 2026-10-01. osha.gov
- Hazard Prevention and Control: Select, assign, and verify controls — OSHA. Accessed 2026-10-01. osha.gov