OPERATIONS IN HEAVILY PROTECTED HOMES

OPERATIONS IN HEAVILY PROTECTED HOMES

BY RAY McCORMACK

The majority of home security measures you will encounter are key-in-lock doorknobs and dead-bolt locks used to secure doors in homes. In areas where home burglaries and the fear of crime are prevalent, additional security devices are often installed on previously unprotected portions of the home. They include window bars and gates, barred outer entry doors, and fully enclosed porches–which turn what was once an ordinary dwelling into a minifortress.

These heavily protected homes mimic the security measures of commercial buildings. The fortress-like conditions created by heavy-duty bars and gates delay initial operations and call for different tactics and additional resources. The most dangerous problem firefighters face is the potential for entrapment presented by the lack of unobstructed egress points within a heavily secured home. Firefighters must view these additional security measures for what they are–a tragedy waiting to happen. A home that has security bars over every conceivable opening hinders occupant escape as well as firefighter egress. The timely removal of these barriers is the best defense against civilian and firefighter entrapment.

PROBLEMS

The type of security bars and gates used, how they are secured, and to what they are fastened determine how difficult they will be to remove. With any of these devices, a delay in gaining entry is likely. If closed-slat rolldown window gates are present, there will also be a delay in notifying the fire department. This delay could allow the fire to gain headway. Backdraft conditions may also be present if the home is tightly sealed by rolldown barriers. Access to the home`s front door will be more difficult if fully enclosed iron-barred porch/storm doors and property gates are present. Metal-cutting power saws and torches will be needed initially and throughout the fire if the dwelling is heavily protected.

In most cases, building codes prohibit the “barring” of sleeping areas in residential occupancies. An exception to this regulation is an allowance for operable window gates that can be opened with smoke detector activation or manually from inside the building. However, these types of window bars are rarely used. Nearly all window bars are illegal. If the occupancy on fire contains barred windows throughout, escape for any trapped civilian or firefighter will be delayed or denied. This dangerous condition must be properly addressed and dealt with for the safety of operating forces. Security bars set into masonry and brick buildings are much more difficult to remove than those set into wood-framed dwellings. Firefighters operating inside the building will have to rely on the exterior crews to remove these barriers. Attempting to remove fixed exterior-mounted metal bars from the building`s interior can be extremely difficult due to limited access to the fastening bolts and work space restrictions.

SIZE-UP

Knowing your response area and preplanning these types of dwellings are key factors for a successful outcome. First-arriving units should apprise dispatch of the building`s condition. So the dispatcher can aid responding units, have on file with the dispatcher special instructions that have been devised for these types of structures–such as having a tower ladder respond (if available) and providing additional metal cutting saws.

Scheduling drills at the scene of a heavily protected home to familiarize firefighters with the types of protection in use in the area and having on file photos showing details of the devices are excellent ways to prepare and inform your company about the hazards presented by these dwellings. Provide for feedback and the presentation of new ideas during the drills. In addition, a list of buildings with illegally installed bars can be forwarded to the responsible building department for follow-up inspection and corrective action. If vacant dwellings containing these barriers are available, multiple units can drill together, simulating an actual call. Ladder companies committed to the interior of the dwelling may benefit from tool assignment changes, such as substituting the maul for a standard ax to assist in removing window bars and breaching areas adjacent to these fixtures–such as under the window–for escape. The maul will quickly remove bricks and framing lumber better than other tools.

APPARATUS PLACEMENT

Ladder company placement is critical at barred-home fires. The ladder company apparatus should fully cover the front of the fire building. If the fire building has a narrow frontage and is completely detached, it may be possible to cover an additional side of the building. A properly positioned tower ladder is the ideal choice for the front of the fire building. If needed, another ladder truck should cover areas the first truck cannot reach.

Tower ladders increase the speed and safety of firefighters assigned to remove security barriers above ground level. It is easier to work on upper-level window bars with power saws from the bucket of a tower ladder. Responses that don`t include such apparatus must be preplanned so that alternate methods of attack can be developed.

Engine companies should be positioned close to the fire building. Proper apparatus placement helps to ensure the availability of a master stream to knock down the heavy fire exposing victims behind these bars as well as a rapid hoseline to protect firefighters from autoexposure and flame growth as they remove the security bars. The engine position should not block out the truck company.

METAL-CUTTING TOOLS

Although you can remove iron bars connected to wood-framed buildings with handheld striking and prying tools, you may also need power saws with metal blades. Using the power saw for heavy-duty gates that have multiple anchor points is less fatiguing than using hand tools. Once you have removed enough anchor points, you can push the bars out of the way, and the saw operator can move to the next obstacle. When you encounter numerous barred openings, use additional portable cutting tools such as torches and heavy-duty air chisels to allow for multiple approaches at various locations.

You may be able to activate electrically powered residential rolldown window gates to the open position if the home`s electricity has not been affected and you can access the switches. Firefighters entering the house should look for a centrally located switch pad that operates the gates. If exterior cutting operations are already underway, they should be stopped before activating the switch.

Attack manually operated rolldown gates at their mounting points or locks to speed removal and lengthen saw blade life. Attempting to cut numerous openings in fully enclosed rolldown gates is time-consuming and will place the saw out of service for a blade change quickly. Residential rolldown gates are not as heavy-duty as their commercial counterparts. Anytime a portable rotary saw is used in a vertical position, a backup firefighter should be present to assist and guide the firefighter operating the saw.

PORTABLE LADDERS

The use of portable ladders at multilevel home fires should be widespread although it is personnel intensive. Ladders must be properly placed and butted or secured. Any ladders firefighters use for entry must be left in place for egress. Portable extension ladders afford more flexibility than fixed-length ladders and will cover a wider variety of situations. Place portable ladders on any side not covered by apparatus–in most cases, the rear and sides of the house. Homes may be more heavily secured at the rear than at the front or sides. When removing bars from locations above ground level, make sure they will not hit the ladder or any firefighter below when they are dropped to the ground. Plan your ladder placement so that barrier removal can be accomplished in the fewest number of moves.

To more easily remove exterior-mounted barriers, leave the window intact. Doing this will increase visibility until the bars have been removed. Two firefighters should work on opposite sides of the window to coordinate the removal of the barrier.

HOSELINES

The choice of hoselines and their placement should follow standard operating procedures. However, you will need additional hoselines to protect firefighters operating in exposed areas. A charged line must cover firefighters operating above windows in an area subject to possible autoexposure. Should autoexposure occur, this protective hoseline should be directed against the space above the window on fire and not into it. You don`t want to have hose streams opposing each other. Using larger-diameter interior handlines for fires in heavily protected homes is a safety tactic that you should not overlook. The benefit of a quicker knockdown of the fire with a larger handline in homes that have straight-room or open-floor layouts outweighs the need for cornering ease and the light weight of smaller-diameter handlines. Remember, the egress points of this home are blocked; a rapid knockdown of the fire is the quickest way to protect the operating force.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communication with interior and exterior crews must be closely monitored so that they work together and not in opposition with each other. If searching firefighters pass a room that contains exterior-mounted window bars, they should radio exterior crews to remove them. By having the exterior crew follow the movement of the interior crew, the interior firefighters will know, should conditions change, that the room they just passed is now being cleared. Radio communication should center around crew positions in the fire building and the conditions they encounter. The IC must be made aware of all tasks accomplished as well as any negative conditions and delays that the crew encountered so he can get a clear picture of the operation. The IC should prompt operating units to give frequent progress reports. Use extra caution for floor-above operations at these types of dwellings. Teams sent to cover above must have a charged line with them and a fully operating line below them. Removing window bars will always be slower when undertaken above ground level. Working in pairs will speed removal when working on upper-floor windows. Interior operations in these types of buildings should not be considered unwarranted. In fact, taking extra safety precautions and assigning additional resources for a fire in a heavily protected building are prudent actions for dwelling fires.

REMOVAL TACTICS

The first step in removing bars from the exterior is to determine how and to what they are mounted. If the bars are mounted to a wood surface, you have several options. The first is prying. Using a halligan, place either the point or adz end behind the mounting points and pry. If the screws or bolts are not too large, they might give. Another option is to use the adz end of the halligan to shear off the bolt heads. If the bolts are oversized or the bars are just too strong, use a power saw or torch. A commercially available device to “rip” the surface-mounted bars from the wall is on the market and can be used as well.

If the bars are mounted in a brick or block surface, you must determine if they are mounted in a joint or through the brick itself. If the bolt is in a mortar joint, you can use an ax to chip at the mortar to expose as much of the bolt or lead sink as possible. Once the bolt is exposed, prying with the halligan may work. The whole piece–bolt and sink–may pull out of the joint. If it doesn`t, and if the bolts are into the bricks themselves, the saw and torch are again the choice.

When trying to remove bars from the interior of a structure, two firefighters should always try to work together. Most interior operations will consist of trying to drive or pry the anchors from the wall. Again, in wood buildings this is a viable option. In brick buildings, it is a much harder task. Try to get either a single side or at least the lower half of the bars free. You can usually pivot the bars against one side.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A structural fire in a heavily protected building should not be treated the same as a fire in a typically unprotected building. The anti-intrusion devices that cover the home`s windows, doors, and porches are a potential death trap for operating firefighters. To make the building safer for firefighters, the first-arriving company officer must immediately special-call additional resources so that these devices can be quickly removed. A sizable portion of the first-alarm assignment may be involved in removing these barriers. A request for a multiple-alarm assignment or mutual aid must be made on arrival if the scope of the initial operations would consume all first-alarm units. Failure to be thorough in this effort could result in firefighters` becoming trapped.

A rapid intervention company (RIC) must be assigned and be part of the preplan for these types of structures. In addition to the RIC, the incident commander should also initially special-call additional truck companies and a heavy rescue company. Portable ladders are definitely needed for multifloored heavily protected homes. A whole ladder company may be needed for just this segment of the operation. Place portable ladders at any window or upper area that can provide egress. Along with the RIC, an additional engine company should be standing by with a charged line to cover any autoexposure or flame growth that may endanger firefighters. More than one engine company may be needed to cover the various sides of the fire building. n

(Above) Rolldown metal shutters, although not common, have a dramatic impact on fire operations. They can be found on the home`s exterior and interior. You can easily attack the exterior ones just as you would exterior bars, especially on wooden structures. You can pull the entire assembly away from the house. If set into brick, the metal cutting saw is the choice. If the shutters are mounted on the structure`s interior, use a metal cutting saw, as there is very little of the assembly visible from the exterior. Use extreme caution in committing companies to the building`s interior when these shutters are present; removing them is a time- and labor-intensive operation.

A typical iron gate protecting a front door. The frame for the door is set into the brick work. This type of installation protects the bolt heads from attack as they are protected by the frame. Direct your forcible entry efforts at the locking mechanism, which is the weakest part of this assembly. If you encounter difficulty forcing the door, use a power saw to cut the bars themselves.

Two different styles of attaching protective bars to buildings. (Left) Bars installed on a wood-frame building. The bolts are sunk directly into the wood frame of the window. Depending on the size of the bolts, a halligan tool may be used to pry the bars loose. If larger bolts are used, it may be necessary to cut the metal at the anchor points. (Right) Bars installed directly into the brick work. Gates installed in this manner are extremely difficult to remove using hand tools. Use a power saw or acetylene torch. If neither is available, use a flathead ax or maul and the adz end of the halligan to drive off bolt heads. You can usually use this tactic only on the lower bolts. Once you remove the heads, you can pry the gate to one side or upward.

A typical sliding-type window gate.

n RAY McCORMACK is a 15-year veteran of and a lieutenant in the City of New York (NY) Fire Department, assigned to the 16th battalion. He has a bachelor`s degree in communications from the New York Institute of Technology. He is a New York state-certified fire instructor and P.A.D.I.-certified in advanced scuba diving.