Lieutenant Michael Brown from Baltimore (MD) Truck Company #15 sent in this interesting door. Like any good Lieutenant would, he wanted credit for the picture and description given to his crew of Truck Company 15 “A” Shift.

The picture is of a structure in their first alarm district. It is secured with ½ steel plates. For obvious reasons, they are unable to determine the exact type of locking mechanisms used on the inside. So, like so many forcible entry problems, you have to use the information apparent from the outside to determine how to force the door. The hinges appear to be half barrel pin hinges, but the weight of steel and the height from the ground would more than likely make lifting/leverage very difficult.

The brothers at Truck 15 A came up with few possible solutions: First, depending upon fire conditions, enter via ground ladder on the second floor and make their way down to the door/window to be able to identify and disable the locking mechanisms from the inside.  The second possibility would be to attack the window where the two swinging doors meet; the window appears to be very weak at the seam, once the windows are opened, enter through the window and get the door open from inside. A third potential solution would be to use the rabbit tool to pop the door. This may or may not be feasible depending any bracing of locking mechanisms located on the inside.

Firefighter Scott Lyons from FDNY TL79 sent in this set of “that don’t look right” photos. The structure is a two family, 2 ½ story wood frame probably about 80-90 years old. Part of the structure is being supported by 3 shores made out of two 2×12’s sandwiching a piece of plywood, held together with a few bolts. The shores appear to be “supporting”…better stated attempting to support… the fact that the original supporting columns appear to be deteriorating.

Oh, and of course the structure is fully occupied…

The doggy door forcible entry technique may not be many people’s first choice, but it’s a technique that could prove useful in certain situations. We originally posted the doggy door forcible entry technique back in November 2006. Here are links to the original post and supplemental page.

As you can see in the video, the cut took about one minute fifteen seconds. The nice thing about this technique is that it only took one person, and the person is still “fresh.” We have no doubt that a well trained team of two firefighters could make quick work out of many doors, but there may be that time when the situation calls for the doggy door. The key to performing a successful doggy door is cutting well into the jab on either side of the cut. This is obviously done to ensure that the door is cut all the way through at the beginning and end of the cut. Notice that a knee was used to stabilize the saw, this can be a useful method, but it has some potential safety issues. The other nice thing about using the knee is that it places the cut at the perfect height.

*This particular door, and the locks presented, would not normally call for a doggy door cut. This video was made simply to demonstrate the technique.

Firefighter John Gilkey from Montgomery County (MD) Fire, Station 29-A, sent in this tip. The tip is simply to use some old hose as a saw bar cover. A couple of short bolt, washer, nut assemblies, and you’re done. Of course a quick stencil and a rattle can finish it off nicely.

The photo below shows how the addition of some webbing and a plastic buckle can be used as a retention system.

We get a number of emails with great submissions sent to the site daily, but this one has to have been one of our favorites. Short, simple, and to the point. The email is copied below in it’s entirety for your enjoyment.

Hey VES,

Found this stuff on the Engine the other day…Don’t know what it is but it makes great “Bar Covers” for our saws…

Signed,

The Truck Guys

This great tip has been added to all of the other great tips on the Tips from the Bucket page.

Captain William Foss Golder Ranch (AZ) Fire sent in this Tip from the Bucket, actually this one is more like a Tip on the Bucket. They were trying to look for ways to save some of the precious floor space in the bucket. They started looking for a way to mount the saw outside of the platform when they were preparing to ventilate. (It is important to point out that the saw is only placed in the press when they arrive on scene and are about deploy the aerial. During response and other operations, the saw resides in a traditional compartment.)

After some research they found something called a “saw press” out of an outdoorsman magazine (could be found in most outdoor sports stores also.) The saw press was originally intended to be used on an ATV to transport a chain saw through rough terrain. They contacted the manufacturer and reviewed all of the specifications on their product, and felt comfortable that it could be adapted to this particular application.

The photo above shows the saw press in place without a saw, this is all that remains on the aerial when the press is not in use.

After having it in place for some time, Capt Foss said they a very pleased with the outcome. The saw fits in quickly and is removed quickly even with your structure gloves. It’s another idea for the Tips from the Bucket section.

Engineer Steven Negedly from Orlando (FL) Engine 9 sent in this photo of an interesting find the crew discovered during an automatic alarm. The owner of this commercial occupancy found a creative way to secure the rear door. Apparently this supplemental lock is in response to some recent break-ins. As you can see, the supplemental lock is simply a heavy ratchet strap from the panic hardware to a nearby railing. The interesting this about this set-up is that there is absolutely no indication on the outside of the door. It just another one of those things you wouldn’t expect.