And Behind Door Number 1. . .

On our way back from another EMS call the other day, we passed this warehouse.  Probably wouldn’t even take a second look at this if you weren’t a firefighter.  If you are a firefighter you can imagine seeing this after you pull the slats on your overhead door during the warehouse fire.  Hopefully you won’t get that far before you figure it out.

This is a concrete wall covering what used to be an opening into a warehouse.  I don’t know why they left it rolled halfway up on this day, but I’m glad they did.  I can’t tell you whats behind door #2 because it was after hours, but I’d give it a 50/50 chance that it’s walled up too.  Even if the wall was down though, the Rock of Gibralter in front should give a clue that the door is not used all that often.

Keep your eyes open and be safe.

-George

Forcing a VPS Door

There have been a few articles written as of late about new security systems for vacant structures.  With the rise of foreclosures we are starting to see a few of these VPS systems in our district and many more in our neighboring district the City of Miami.   VPS stands for Vacant Property Security and they are one of a few similar companies who lease out these security systems.  If you want to read more about the company, you can click here.

In this article, I’m going to focus on the door and one way to overcome it if it needs to be forced.  Below is a picture of the door in a structure.

The door is an outward swinging steel door that is installed in front of or in place of the normal front door.  It utilizes a color coded keypad entry system that locks and unlocks the door.  You release and activate the three deadbolts with the latch in the center of the door.  The deadbolts are located at the top and bottom of the opening side and in the center of the opening side.  Here is another photo of the door open.

Front of door open

Close up of front door lock

The two bolts that extend vertically and the one bolt that extends horizontally make this is an extremely difficult door to force conventionally.   Additionally, you will be equally hard pressed to attack the hinges because of the way the hinge bolts recess into the door frame.

The easiest and quickest way to attack this door is to simply make a triangle cut above and to the left of the latch.  Poke your nozzle through, darken down the fire, then reach through the opening and engage the latch.   Here are some diagrams.

Back of door and latch that needs to be engaged

This method also retains the integrity of the door and allows us to utilize reversible ventilation and close the door if need be.  There is a keyed version of this door, but the vendor did not have it with them.  I will try to find some photos of that door if possible.

Thanks to Lt. Stacy Richard for putting together this training and thanks to the VPS vendors who were kind enough to come out and show us how to overcome their system.

-George

Triple Trouble

While doing a walk-through of a local auto paint supplier’s warehouse we found this triple threat at the rear entrance to the occupancy.  1st the overhead door opens to a small storage area and leads to the rear door of the occupancy.  The rear door of the occupancy is a steel door, but  oddly enough looks pretty easy since it has panic hardware on the outside to get in.

But when you push the door and get two to three inches of clearance the door is blocked.  This is what’s behind it.

An overhead door that is locked every night at closing.  This would be challenging for the crew assigned to open up the rear and at the very least, a lot more time consuming than you might originally think.

How to Clean Hand Tools

There are many reasons why we clean our tools.  First and foremost, we clean our tools so that they perform when we are expected to perform.  We clean our tools because the more time they spend in our hands the more muscle memory we create.  We also clean our hand tools because it is also a direct sign of the pride each company has in their truck and their station.  Finally,  when we see a fireman with a well worn halligan in his hand that has been expertly cared for, you can trust that you are dealing with a professional.

Picture of an axe from an unnamed truck and an axe from Aerial 2

I find that most firefighters who don’t maintain their tools ignore them mainly because they don’t know how to clean them or the station captain hasn’t requisitioned the proper tools for maintenance.  The purpose of this post is to give tips and suggestions for caring and maintaining your hand tools.

First, you need a grinder with a wire brush and an abrasive stone.  You also need a hand held wire brush and a towel.  If you have an angle grinder, you can fit it with a wire brush and hit the hard to reach corners of the tool.  You also need safety glasses and work gloves.

Your grinder should be placed in an area that allows for 360° movement of the tool.  Spending the forty dollars for a grinder pedastool to place the grinder at least six feet from the wall is a solid investment and will save you a lot of headaches.

Trust me, you’ll appreciate the fact that you set your grinder away from the wall when you go to clean your hooks after a fire.

While cleaning the tool with the wire brush it is important to look for cracks, dull edges and broken handles.  If there is a gouge or a slice in the handle of the sledge or axe that exposes the core, then it is time order a new tool and take that one out of service.  The wire brush on the grinder will remove dirt, grit, rust, and oxidation and return a nice shine to your tool.

As for dull edges, these need to be sharpened and this is an area that takes skill and a steady hand.  First, edges should be sharpened on the bevel and should try to maintain the original angle of the the blade.  The opposite side of the bevel may have burrs or nicks, these should be filed away by hand.  Remember, if you over-sharpen the blade, then the tool will become brittle–too dull and you won’t cut or gap anything.

After you’ve cleaned your tool with the wire brush and ground the blade to the appropriate sharpness it’s now time to protect your work.  Take your towel and spread a light coat of almost any light weight oil.  3 in 1 seems to work the best for us.  This will protect the tool from oxidizing and rust.

When do you clean your tools? Simple.  After every use and any time they start to look like they are oxidizing.  If you stay on top of your tools they will only need a touch up instead of an hour long cleaning.

Wrapping your tools

Wrapping the handle of your tool decreases hand fatigue and creates confidence in the user.  The best way to wrap your tool (halligan, axe, sledge etc) is to use hockey tape with a braid criss-crossed up and down the handle.  You create the braid by twisting 2″ tape.  This works better than o2 tubing as it doesn’t split the tape after heavy use.

After you’ve completed the braid, then you can start with the hockey tape and complete your grip.  You can use colored hockey tape to identify your tool to your particular truck and its also a little more professional looking than spray painting your tool for identification.

When your done wrapping your tool’s handle, then you can step back and admire your effort.  And later, when you’re at a house fire and someone from another truck comes up to you and asks to borrow your halligan, you can ask back, “Where’s yours?”

Two hands, two tools…

Thanks to Andre Cruzeta, Kevin Attai and Freddy Martinez for help in organizing and preparing this post.

Heed the Warning – Double the Trouble

slat style OHD

Pick a door, any door

Found this overhead door in our territory.  The business owner was nice enough to warn us that between the five doors to choose from, this one would probably be the most difficult by painting, ‘Notice Double Steel Doors’.   This slat style overhead door is installed in front of a large hinged steel door to provide more security to a warehouse that has been burglarized multiple times for its aluminum. 

The door had been unmarked for a while, until they had a small fire.  Crews on scene, forced the first OHD only to find  a second one right behind it.  After the fire, the owner had the sign posted on the new steel door.  Here are some pictures from the back.   Note the obstacles blocking a door that is never used.

rear side of second hinged door

close-up of locks and partial cut

You never know what you’re going to find out there.  Be safe, try to make wise decisions, prepare for the worst and keep your saws running until you’re in.  And if you do have to go through these doors, you’re probably better served by attacking the locks on the outside door and manually raising the door before attacking the second door.

chain to raise door manually and hockey puck lock

If you have any unusual doors or windows out there, send me the pics and I’ll post them.

-George