System and method for weapons detection while maintaining originally-intended egress capacity

A method for providing weapons detection at a portal of an enclosure while simultaneously permitting a clear opening width of the portal at any time without the need for third party action or special knowledge, the portal having an open pathway and an adjacent door leaf, said method comprising:

• mounting a first metal detector pedestal on a door frame on a first side of the open pathway;
• mounting a second metal detector pedestal on a free side of the door leaf, said free side of the door leaf forming a second side of said open pathway;
• providing electrical power to said first and second metal detectors to establish an electromagnetic (EM) metal detection field therebetween across said open pathway, and wherein power to said second metal detector is conveyed through electrified hinges;
• locking the door leaf using an electromagnetic lock;
• installing a panic bar on an inside side of the door leaf, said panic bar overriding said electromagnetic lock when said panic bar is activated during an emergency;
• and
• opening the door leaf in an emergency by activating said panic bar to establish the clear opening width of the portal.

A building defense system for protecting occupants in a building and formed of a plurality of layers of protection, said system comprising:

• a first layer of protection formed at a building perimeter portal, said first layer of protection comprising a security card reader or keypad for gaining access to the building, said security card reader and said keypad being coupled to a remote portal controlling and monitoring system;
• a second layer of protection, forming a demising point, comprising a weapons detection system at a portal inside said building after said building perimeter portal and having an open pathway and a normally locked closed door leaf, said weapons detection system comprising a first metal detector pedestal attached to a first side of the open pathway on a portal door frame and a second metal detector pedestal attached to a free side of the door leaf that forms a second side of the open pathway, each of said pedestals coupled to a power source for establishing an electromagnetic (EM) metal detection field therebetween across said open pathway;
• said pedestals coupled to said monitoring system such that if said pair of metal detector pedestals detects a metal object therein on a person requesting entry (PRE), an alert is generated;
• and
• a third layer of protection at a vestibule portal, following said demising point, said vestibule having a portal that is maintained in a locked condition by said monitoring system in the event that said weapons detection system detected a metal object on the PRE at said demising point or said PRE refuses to follow instructions, and either one now designated a person denied entry (PDE) while simultaneously instructing personnel on an opposite of said portal to avoid trying to pass through said portal and to divert the personnel to an alternate path away from said PDE.

A method of protecting occupants in a building using a plurality of layers of protection, said method comprising:

• establishing a first layer of protection at a building perimeter portal by providing a security card reader or keypad for gaining access to the building and coupling said security card reader and said keypad to a remote portal controlling and monitoring system;
• establishing a second layer of protection by providing a weapons detection system at a portal inside said building after said building perimeter portal and wherein said portal of said second layer of protection comprises an open pathway and a normally locked closed door leaf, said weapons detection system comprising a first metal detector pedestal attached to a first side of the open pathway on a portal door frame and a second metal detector pedestal attached to a free side of the door leaf that forms a second side of the open pathway, each of said pedestals coupled to a power source for establishing an electromagnetic (EM) metal detection field therebetween across said open pathway;
• said pedestals coupled to said monitoring system such that if said pair of metal detector pedestals detects a metal object therein on a person requesting entry (PRE), an alert is generated, said portal with said weapons detection system forming a demising point;
• and
• establishing a third layer of protection by providing a vestibule portal, following said demising point, said vestibule portal being maintained in a locked condition by said monitoring system in the event that said weapons detection system detected a metal object on the PRE at said demising point or said PRE refuses to follow instructions, and either one now designated a person denied entry (PDE) while simultaneously instructing personnel on an opposite of said portal to avoid trying to pass through said portal and to divert the personnel to an alternate path away from said PDE.