By JONATHON STEED
The fire service has three objectives: 1) life safety, which includes the direct life-saving efforts at fires and emergencies and fire prevention efforts to prevent the fire from starting; 2) property conservation; and 3) incident stabilization. The fire service is good at accomplishing all of these objectives. Every probationary member knows that when a victim is found, the incident priorities change, and every chief and company officer has a pretty firm grasp on what is necessary in stabilizing an incident. However, many fire departments do not have a great handle on the property conservation objective. Sure, it is easy to throw a tarp over a bed or a dresser during firefighting operations or to create a water chute out of a tarp and pike poles, as we were shown in fire school, but we must improve on the property conservation aspect during the process of forcible entry and incident investigation.
Imagine being dispatched to a nonemergency call where a parent stepped outside and accidentally locked himself out of the residence with a toddler inside. What will you, as the company officer, do? Your assignment is simple: gain entry to the residence. Will your irons man break down the $5,000 custom-made front door because he likes forcing entry and it is the first door he sees, or will he use another method such as a through-the-lock method or a window entry? We have all been to the incidents that do not warrant “forcible” forcible entry–i.e., incidents that do not require immediate entry with low regard for damage done to the entranceway. Because the fire department is in place to protect property, it should not destroy property that does not absolutely need to be destroyed. The public pays for our existence, and they deserve a competent local fire department that can quickly size up and gain entry to the needed structure, doing no unnecessary damage.
Although continually being mindful of unnecessary damage seems easy enough, it is often a problem of attitude and tradition that keeps this an issue. When the chance came for me to force entry into a structure, I never complained about it. It seems firefighters LOVE forcing entry and the feeling of defeating a tough door. However, it takes a disciplined crew and company officer to hold off on smashing and thrashing and use a less destructive method of entry. If the old irons set is the only method available to gain entry, do not hesitate to use it. In many cases, though, it is not really necessary.
Recently, I was in a situation where my crew was investigating some structural cracking in a large commercial building and we needed to gain access to the utility room. There was no key available to us to gain entry to this room; the door was a standard commercial-grade metal door with an outward swing, exposed hinges, a nonfunctional door handle, the slam-lock removed, and no mortise lock assembly. Above the handle, a swinging clasp that went over a quarter turnkey lock was installed on the frame (photo 1). The clasp is designed to fit over the key lock when unlocked. When locking occurs, the lock is twisted a quarter turn perpendicular to the clasp, preventing the door from opening (photo 2). The benefit to the building was that if a thief broke in the utility room window, he would not be allowed further access; the locking hardware was on the room’s exterior.
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| 1 Photos by author. |
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When called to force this door, the first crew wanted to use the irons, which would have likely broken the door and ripped the locking hardware out of the door and frame, making re-securing impossible. By simply attacking the cheap clasp part of the lock, we would have saved the company money and given it a better sense of security; an employee could go to any hardware store and re-secure the door in the same hour. This also would have prevented the need for the company to hire a locksmith to install a new locking device. Another option would have been to forcefully twist the lock back to the open position with a pair of pliers. There is a good chance that you could damage or break the lock by doing this, but it doesn’t necessarily compromise the utility room’s security all that much.
Essentially, the door’s purpose was to keep intruders from gaining access to the rest of the building through the utility room window and through the door. If we turned the lock–or even broke it–it could still be placed in the locked position again, allowing the door to remain secure from inside the utility room.
Another easy option would be to attack the exposed hinge pins. This is usually accomplished easily with an irons set or a flathead screwdriver and a striking tool. Although this locking mechanism is not very common, you should think quickly about the pros and cons of any action before commencing. The ability to consider the different choices you have and the possible outcomes associated with these choices is gained through experience. When your crew looks at you with disapproval for using a through-the-lock method instead of the irons, remember that you are doing right by the public.
Regarding commercial buildings, consider buying or making a J-tool (photo 3), which can be purchased from a few manufacturers. This tool can be slipped in between the frame and the door of a commercial door with panic hardware. Once inside the door, this tool grabs the panic hardware with its “J” shape and allows the operator to pull toward the outside, unlocking the door. This is an excellent tool to help gain access without damaging property and offers the ability to re-secure the business. You can also use the J-tool when coming up against security meshed screen doors and the more familiar open steel barred security gates and doors with panic hardware. Simply insert the tool through the mesh screen’s diamond-shaped openings or in between the open bars and engage the panic hardware and defeat the door. Best of all, this tool allows us to not have to wait for key holders. In the previous scenario, after becoming impatient waiting for key holders who were a considerable distance away to respond to an alarm, I went to the hardware store; spent $3 on a thin piece of tubular steel; and, with the help of a torch and a few firefighters, bent the metal into the “J” tool shape.
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Another useful homemade tool is a pair of slip-joint pliers with the ends of the handles modified (photos 4, 5). These pliers offer numerous applications including the ability to twist mortise and cylindrical locks out of their keepers during through-the-lock entry operations. Once twisted out, the modified ends of the handle act as files–also known as keys or picks–and are kept in a standard K-tool set. One handle is modified as a bent file; the straight end acts as a regular file. They are used to reach into a mortise assembly and disengage the locking mechanisms. If you choose to modify your own set of pliers, consider removing the grips from the handles before you heat the handle to bend it. This will ensure you do not melt and ruin your grips with the torch. I grind my straight end down to double as a flathead screwdriver at the tip.
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Considering the weight of all the gear you carry, always attempt to increase the uses of a tool to make your job easier. The only noticeable downside of modifying this particular tool is that modifying the ends takes a slight amount of leverage away from the handles, but this is a small tradeoff for having a widely applicable multitool. Think about which tools you can make more efficient and versatile. Remember, some of the best fire service implements started as homegrown ideas. These tools can help us gain entry into structures quickly and can keep what was once a multitude of separate tools together right at your fingertips.
One of the easiest ways to stay in the public’s good graces is to stay up-to-date on current alternative methods of entry such as through-the-lock methods. Do you know the difference between a rim lock and a mortise lock? Do you know the most efficient methods of defeating a cylindrical lock? There are many resources available to refine your skills. Fire Department of New York Battalion Chief John Buckheit’s excellent video series details methods of through-the lock entry and focuses on entry methods that cause the least amount of damage possible, emphasizing lock disassembly rather than destruction. These videos are found under the “Training Minutes” section of the Fire Engineering Web site. Youtube is another good source for learning because it offers a glimpse into other fire departments’ forcible entry techniques (as well as innovations in all aspects of the job) that work for them based on their locales. A few training outfits also post techniques for students to absorb information on forcible entry. Look at these videos; what works for them may work for you. In this age of technology and information sharing, it is very beneficial to use all available resources.
Also, take a trip with your crew to the local home improvement store and ask a representative questions such as, What types of locks do you sell the most of? What is the most common type of household window being installed in the area? and so on. The salesperson can show you the prices of the locks and windows, which will help you decide which one to break or manipulate if necessary. Going that extra mile can help gain tremendous support from the people you assist.
The key to performing the least amount of damage to a structure when forcing entry, especially in a nonemergency situation, is a thorough, continuous size-up. A working knowledge of building materials is also important. For example, breaking a pane of glass out of the homeowner’s $5,000 custom front door is obviously not as ideal as knocking out a $40 pane of glass from a cheap back or side door. You may already know that, but many departments will attack the first entrance they see for a call that does not warrant this kind of urgency. Like any incident, perform a 360° walk-around first. You can perform this walk-around at most houses in less than a minute; it could be the difference between a customer’s satisfaction and disgust.
Identify the path of least resistance and damage. If this means opening an unlocked window and lifting a firefighter through it, do that. This ideal method will cause no damage, provides access, and re-secures the premises once our job is done. (If you decide to send a firefighter through a window, do not choose the one who is infamous for being clumsy and breaking things; this method could backfire quickly. I know because I was that firefighter.)
Another viable option is to ladder a second-floor window, which is much less likely to be locked than windows on the first floor, for obvious security reasons. We may not think about the lasting effects of our actions because we will likely not see that homeowner again. Take a second to think about how to best minimize unnecessary damage, and the homeowner will remember the incident and appreciate your professionalism.
When considering entry, ask yourself the following questions in your size-up to help determine which entrance to use:
1How much time do I have? Your answer will determine your method of entry. In a fire, the answer to this question is: I have little time. In a different instance such as when a parent has locked himself outside with a child inside, you will probably have substantially more time. Consider this time a gift; use it to investigate the property and identify the most practical entry point.
2How much will this cost to repair? You do not need to keep a home improvement store’s catalog in your pocket, but use your best judgment. If a door or a window looks expensive, it probably is; consider choosing another entry point. Also remember that your customers may not have insurance that would cover the damage you will do.
3Once opened, how easy will this entry point be to re-secure once I leave? Many times, you will be performing “soft” forcible entry techniques on medical calls, specifically for elderly people who cannot get up to unlock the door for you. Depending on what kind of neighborhood they live in, this could be an area of little or high consequence. Consider the safety of the customer once your job is done.
Another common occurrence is encountering activated alarms after hours at commercial buildings and businesses. How many times have you responded to these calls and waited for a nonexistent key holder to show up, which doesn’t happen? A business is not a place to be left open without a representative from that business on site. Often, chiefs will decide not to even attempt entry in this situation because of the problem of re-securing the business. Try to use a tool like the “J” tool to gain access, and re-secure the business afterward. If there is any question that re-securing will be an issue, call the police department to respond and provide security and to contact the homeowner. This will, in turn, free the fire department to respond to other calls.
4Can I enlist the help of the property owner? In many instances, the owner will be outside to greet you. Ask him what he would like to see happen. No one will have better knowledge of what his building costs than the homeowner. If he is not outside or close by, use your judgment.
Using through-the-lock methods is becoming a lost art in the fire service. This method of entry has earned its place in our trade; do not let these methods or the reasons we use them go forgotten. The key to the success of these techniques is working knowledge. If you are not familiar with the locks that you find yourself having to manipulate, you will cause unnecessary damage and, likely, not even be able to gain access. Save yourself the embarrassment: Read up on these locking devices, and train with them hands-on. If you have any buildings scheduled for demolition in your jurisdiction, practice with their locks, and remove their doors with these locks intact. Take the doors back to the firehouse and practice on them, or make some door props for continual training in these disciplines. Go to your local hardware store and have an employee disassemble these locks for you so you can learn from them.
Do not forget your job. Career or volunteer, you have a responsibility to limit property damage by calculated decision making. Use your judgment, take an extra second, and ask yourself how you can limit unnecessary damage. It is fun to force doors, but it is a lot less fun for your department when a homeowner calls your mayor or township manager to complain about unnecessary damage. If time allows, consider throwing a ladder to a second-floor window to check if it is locked, use a through-the-lock method, or break an inexpensive window latch to gain access. Do not allow temptation to get the best of you and make you force the first door you see.
JONATHON STEED is a five-year fire service member and a training officer for the Woodlawn Fire Department in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He previously served as a lieutenant and live-in for the Wyomissing Fire Department in Reading, Pennsylvania. Steed has a bachelor’s degree in fire administration from the University of New Haven.
