News Briefs April 2011

Marks USA Supplies Institutional Life Safety Locksets

Marks USA has supplied Atascadero State Hospital & Rehab Center with their Grade 1 Institutional Life Safety Locksets. Atascadero State Hospital (ASH), opened in 1954 and is an all-male, maximum security forensic facility serving the entire state of California. ASH is a completely self-contained psychiatric hospital constructed within a security perimeter.

Marks USA’s Grade 1 Institutional Life Safety locksets are designed to address Managed Liability, Accident Prevention, Life Safety, and Security in Behavioral Health Care Institutions. The shape and construction of the SS55 Series Locksets are designed to restrict the attachment of lines, laces, etc. to door knobs. In addition, with the knobs recessed into the rosettes, the chance of capturing a line between the knob and rosette is substantially eliminated.

The SS55 Locksets are currently in use at Coney Island, Bellevue and Jacobi Hospitals in New York, the Denver V.A. Hospital in Colorado and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in California.

 For more information visit www.marksusa.com.

ALOA Scholarship Foundation Update

The ALOA Scholarship Foundation (ASF) reminds the locksmith community that the deadline for ALOA Convention scholarship applications is quickly approaching. All applications must be received 90 days prior to ALOA. (ALOA begins Aug. 6 in Nashville, TN.)

Applications may be submitted throughout the year for locksmith/security training and must be received at least 60 days prior to the requested classes. All classes must meet the ASF education criteria.

For more information and to obtain a copy of the application, visit www.aloa.org/education.

ASF introduced a new Student Benefactor Program in 2010. Security professionals, distributors and manufacturers can make a single donation to provide a student education at the ALOA resident school, national conventions, or other classes that meet the ASF educational criteria.

The ASF Board of Directors would like to extend special thanks to the following nine manufacturers who have committed to this program as of March 1.

• Abloy Door Security
• Arrow Lock
• ASSA High Security Locks
• Consolidated Safes
• International Fire Door Inspector Association
• Kaba Ilco
• Kaba Access Control
• Lucky Line Products
• Medeco Security Locks
• Mul-T-Lock

In addition, ASF thanks its industry partners who donate each year. Last year, Allstate Insurance and Professional Business Products donated in excess of $1,000 each.

The ALOA Scholarship Foundation will also hold its annual banquet during the ALOA Convention. Make plans to attend the ASF Banquet on Friday, August 12 from 7-10 p.m. in the Gaylord Opryland Delta Area. Tickets include food, live entertainment and a little southern hospitality. Dress is casual. All proceeds from the banquet benefit ASF programs and services.

Established in 1993, ALOA Scholarship Foundation is an independent, educational, non-profit 501(c)(3), tax-exempt corporation. All donations are tax deductible. The mission of the ALOA Scholarship Foundation is to provide educational services, programs and assistance for the locksmith/security industry.

ASF is a separate corporation from ALOA and is managed by an independent, voluntarily board of directors. Although both organizations have similar goals, scholarship decisions are made by the ASF Board. For more information, visit www.securityscholarship.org.

NYC Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire

Led to Tougher, Safer Building Codes

A New York City factory fire that killed 146 garment workers a century ago was the impetus for legislation advocating for tougher labor laws as well as building codes promoting safe working conditions.

March 25, 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire at the Asch Building, now called the Brown Building and part of New York University in lower Manhattan. In less than 30 minutes, 146 young women, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants, perished in the blaze because exit doors had been locked making their evacuation impossible.