A locksmith in Chicago who installs equipment for commercial establishments can provide exit door alarm devices that are commonly called panic bars. This equipment is intended to prevent anyone from leaving the building except through specifically defined exit points, even while other exit points remain unlocked and accessible. They essentially function as emergency exits that only lock from the outside. Someone can push the bar to open the door from the inside, but an alarm sounds and alerts staff members to the situation.
Panic bars as installed by a locksmith in Chicago are common in large commercial and institutional buildings as well as in smaller stores with back doors. Most people have probably seen the alarm device on the back door of a convenience store, for example. These stores are frequent targets of theft, and the owners want to prevent thieves from quietly exiting out the back where no personnel will see them leave. Movie theaters also typically have panic bars installed on back doors.
Exit points must be accessible in various areas of the building even when keeping those doors completely unsecured is inadvisable. If an emergency situation develops, like a fire or the potential for gun violence, people must have a way to escape if possible. Panic bars, as installed by a company such as Amazing Lock Service Chicago, serve that function. They improve security while not compromising safety. Commercial facilities that are not required by law to have these features can reduce their insurance rates by having panic bars installed.
The devices include warning signs telling people that an alarm will sound if the bar is pushed. The sign typically includes a notice that this door is an emergency exit only. Nearly everyone understands the warning and finds a different exit, but on rare occasion, someone will accidentally trip the alarm. A child may not truly understand what the sign says, for example. The situation is quickly resolved by security personnel in these cases. Building owners and managers know it is far better to have the emergency exit system in place than to avoid the infrequent inconvenience of an alarm being unintentionally set off.
