Children + fire safety = a tough combo

Child safety and fire safety don’t always mesh. The trick is to find a balance between openness and technology. The Pysslingen private school system found its golden mean with solutions from ASSA.

Nickel-free keys

Pysslingen opened its first preschool in Nacka, southwest of Stockholm, in 1986. Since then the company has grown to a key player in the private school sector. Today Pysslingen runs about 80 preschool and elementary school units in Stockholm, the Lake Mälaren valley region and the province of Skåne.
The Johannes Petri School in Saltsjöö-Boo, Nacka, is one of them. This school includes a preschool, an elementary school and an after-school recreation center in three wood-paneled buildings nestled into an oak grove. The lock system was jointly planned by Pysslingen and lock installer Bergs Lås AB in Bandhagen. The locks are ASSA Twin Combis with nickel-free keys.
“It’s a tried and true system with excellent reliability,” says Peter Berglund at Bergs Lås.

Joint systems

Many rooms have exits leading straight into the grounds, several of which are emergency exits as well. The ASSA 179 series is used for all emergency exits. In the lunchroom, ASSA’s 1125 panic bars were installed. The fittings and handles all have a Miralloy coating—an allergy-friendly, nickel-free, durable surface treatment that is an alternative to chrome plating.
Vandalism and other types of damage are highest at the very beginning and end of the school year. Cecilia Sundberg is grateful that fires in wastebaskets, graffiti and broken windows have so far been very limited in the buildings she manages. “We’ve tried to find security alarm and fire alarm systems that work ideally,” she says. Staff safety is also a key consideration.
No employee should have to prowl all the nooks and crannies of the school each night to make sure all the emergency exits are locked.

Flexible security

All the emergency exits at the Johannes Petri School have ASSA 811-50 motor locks connected to the access and alarm systems, Sundberg says. When the last person leaves the building, the system shows if all doors are locked; otherwise an alarm sounds.
In collaboration with their alarm-system partner, Bergs Lås AB installed a system in which staff use keycards and codes to gain access to the school and to switch the alarm on and off. This ensures top security with control over the entire perimeter protection. For internal doors, the staff have keys to the areas to which they have access.
“The combination combines good security and good flexibility at a reasonable cost,” says Peter Berglund at Bergs Lås.