The present invention is a system and method for quickly securing a door to a door frame to protect the occupants of a room from an intruder while still allowing a user to open the door from within the secured room with a minimum of movements and time in the event of a dangerous situation in the room such as fire or other hazards. Embodiments of the invention are equally applicable to doors that open inwardly and outwardly relative to an area to be secured.

A wire crate latch apparatus having, in a first embodiment, a pivoting member that is continually drawn to a closed position by gravity and that is deflected into a catch when the door having the pivoting member is swung closed. The latch apparatus further includes upper and lower stops to contain a distal end of the pivoting member and to hold the distal end in the position to hit an oblique portion of the catch when the door is closed. In a second embodiment, a sliding latch apparatus is deflected by a catch and is relatively inaccessible from inside of the wire crate by back plates on the latch and catch.