Answer:

• The door wedge holding open this stairwell door, a seemingly harmless condition, represents a fire/life safety hazard and fire code violation. The first defense against the spread of fire is to contain the fire by keeping fire-rated doors closed at all times. These doors prevent smoke and heat from traveling up stairwells and along corridors.
• Never prop open stairwell or other fire-rated doors. A fire door must be free of any obstructions which could prevent the door from operating properly, i.e., wedge door stops, chains, hookbacks, etc. Fire doors are normally located in stairwells and hallways. To identify a fire door, look for:

  1. A mechanical device that automatically shuts the door.

  2. A fire-rating door label (by Underwriters Laboratory or Warnock Hersey), located on the door next to the hinges, and
  3. A fire-rating door frame label (usually UL) or, located on the door frame next to the hinges.