Locking device deters tampering with standpipes
Dispatches
Between 22% and 30% of the fires in public/mercantile and industrial occupancies are listed as incendiary/suspicious, according to the National Fire Protection Association’s FIRE ALMANAC. And with vandalism identified as a motive in 40% of all incendiary fires, industrial facilities are one of the most logical targets for this type of arsonist.
Vandalism, however, need not only be arson to cause a serious fire-service-related problem. Standpipe outlets in industrial plants, high-rise offices, and apartments are often targets for malicious mischief. Brass caps and valves are often removed, pawned for ready cash. Debris, such as rags, rubber balls, and paper goods, sometimes are stuffed in standpipe cap openings.
A patented security device for locking standpipe caps and valves may provide a solution, or at least a deterrent to unauthorized removal of or tampering with standpipe fixtures. Invented by Louis J. Sample, assistant security director at the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, and a member of the Fire Safety Directors Association, New York, NY, the locking device consists basically of a bent metal bar with a post and an opening that fits over the standpipe cap’s nipple.
Photo by Louis J. Sample
This slotted opening on the bottom section of the standpipe locking device is locked into position by either a padlock or a headed metal pin inserted into the slots. With the pin (or padlock) and the standpipe cap’s nipple abutting, the locking metal bar cannot be moved left or right because the nipple and pin are at the right-hand extremity of the opening. To prevent the pin from being pulled out of the slots, the pin’s end is bent to form a 90° angle.
The post on the locking device prevents the cap from being turned more than 180° by butting against the lugs of the standpipe cap.
As for the standpipe’s handwheel, the metal locking bar extends upward, perpendicular to the bottom of the locking device. The metal bar passes through the spokes of the handwheel and overlies the handwheel’s holding nut. The width of the security bar can be adjusted to accommodate smaller handwheels.
To remove the locking device, simply remove the metal pin or padlock from the slots at the standpipe cap location. This is done with either a bolt cutter or, in the case of a lock, the proper key. With the correct tools, the locking device can be installed or removed within 15 seconds, according to Sample.
Remember, any kind of lock serves as only a deterrent to vandals. However, by the time the perpetrator forces this locking device and activates the standpipe system, he hopefully will be apprehended.
For more information on the locking device, contact Louis J. Sample, 42-49 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355. Telephone: (718) 353-8803.
