Residential Security Door
Lieutenant Nate Quartier from Ormond Beach (FL) Engine 94 sent in these photos of something the crew was discussing around the firehouse. One of the brothers, Jim Peter was telling the crew about a new residential security door he saw at the local home improvement store. So after a short discussion, the crew loaded up and headed to the store for some impromptu in-service training. (Which is a great idea, an amazing amount of training opportunities await us there.) At first glance the door appears to look like any other residential door, but the price tag alone should let you know it has something a little extra. (Of course the price won’t be known when we come across it on a structure.) The door is an outward swinging door with an extra lip over the jamb to cover the traditional gap, and the hinges are more substantial, more like hinges found on some commercial doors. Upon closer inspection, it becomes obvious what sets this door apart from the others. It basically has six deadbolts (4 in the middle, and one top and one bottom) that are all controlled by a single lock mechanism.
Below is a video for the product. Don’t mind the fact that it is a promotional video, it still has some good information about the construction of the door. We certainly question their forcible entry demonstration, but it seems that through-the-lock would be the simplest way to go on this one. Speaking of their forcible entry techniques… That is why it is important to train, study different doors, and lock mechanisms, and to identify and visualize when forcing a door. No one who ever wears our uniform should look that ridiculous when faced with a challenging door.
http://www.vententersearch.com/videos/flv/mastersecuritydoor.flv 45 comments45 Comments so far
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The door they are testing and beating on has 8 bolts. Look when he opens the door right around the 3 min. mark
LoL sick door let it burn
While very formidable, I think a set of irons and two members that understand basic forcible entry concepts can and will defeat this door.
You will most likely have to set the forks 6″ above or below each bolt or set of bolts, but in a few minutes, with proper technique and practice, you would defeat this door.
Most of the shots with the sledge-hammers in the video are completely dispersed across the door, and almost no force is applied to the lock.
I believe this is the door that was designed to withstand the forces applied by the Hydra-Ram.
Although formidable, I don’t think the door is unbeatable.
Break out the K-12 and be done with it.
Tough door-Would definitely like to see a video of a well trained crew defeating this door with various methods(Irons,battering ram,saw).
Im voting for through the lock on this one. Im guessing it’s just a rim cylinder that operates those bolts. People underestimate the speed and effectiveness of through the lock. Or, of course, a donkey kick. On a separate note, how come every time people do toughness tests, they shoot the thing? Bullets aren’t that strong?
Great post and find, It was hard to tell in the quality of this video but I think they were going crazy with sledge hammers beating on an OUTWARD swinging door. Might as well be the guy that trys to kick the outward swinging door down.
I have to agree with Nate and Jimm on this one, hard door or not, use solid proven tactics and act like we have been there before. Plan A, B and so on.
Nate, you know anything about the lock cylinders they use on these setups? Typical mounting bolts that you would find on a tubular deadbolt or rim lock?
Some of the doors they showed had bolts spaced out well along the edge of the door. Assuming that the door is installed in a metal jamb, then I do not think that it worth the effort of traditional tools. Also it looks a if they are out swinging doors. If you have to navigate around the flange, you may not have room to manipulate the irons (in a hallway or a narrow entrance). Leaving through the lock, a circular saw or some other access point.
I don’t know much about the lock cylinders. I’ll see what I can dig up from my sources.
To me, if the door is set in a metal jamb and metal frame, and the door itself is metal…that makes me want to attack with the irons even more. Navigating around the flange or angle-iron is not a problem with a little practice.
I am staying away from the power saw approach until I verify that my efforts on the irons are of no use. I know in at least some of these doors, the actual locking mechanism is made of boron. Cutting boron with a power saw is going to be a lot longer of an operation than most may think (and that is just one bolt). Some of these doors had EIGHT! Cutting the door is also not a viable (timely) option in my opinion either.
I am game for giving through the lock a shot if the cylinders allow for it.
Again, just my opinions on my game-plan. I don’t think anyone is right or wrong here.
WOW! definitely an impressive door. Now if anyone can get one of these to put it through its paces fire dept. style, please video it and post it back on this or all other sites.
I am thinking breaching the wall beside the door. Reach through the hole and flip the deadbolt. I am willing to bet that it does not have a keyed deadbolt on the interior side. Provided it is not a masonary wall, it should be fairly easy. Espically if you have chain saw or cutters edge saw
Nobody in my district could even afford this door…especially in this economy.
What about a length wise cut with a Demo Saw? The construction did look any heavier than a normal steel door.
This appears to be a variation of the mul-t-lock. One important thing to note is the swing of the door. If it swings inward (as most residential doors do) a Rabbit tool can be used on the side bolts and upper bolts. When these are defeated a sledge hammer can be used to defeat the lower bolt. Pulling the cylinder may not work if the bottom bolt is designed to disengage from the cylinder (I don’t know if it is or not on this particular door) or if there is a guilletine shutter that drops over the operating mechanism. If the door opens outward the best tactic would probably be to use the saw to cut an opening in the door then reach in and operate the thumb turn…providing that a key is not also required from the inside of course. This would also possibliy work on an inside swinging door. Just my two cents. Stay safe Brothers.
I agree that going through the wall and operating the thumb screw may also be a viable approach in some circumstances.
Great post. It’s a toughie. But a Super-Donkey Kick would do it, maybe a Super-Duper-Donkey Kick would be necessary if it had the extra deadbolts….
I could not tell or did not hear if they said the door was in cased all the way around. From the video they had it set up as an outward swing door, so it brought to my mind of attacking the hinges. I would love as I’m sure everyone else would to have a shot at one of these doors.
Lock mechanism is not a point of attack, it is integral to the lockset. This is a tough door, well though out.
Once we open it, it will never close again- the need for destruction is certain. I vote K-12. Or let D-man donkey-kick it.
Note: they didn’t show the 5 security studs on the hinge side. Cutting the hinges gets you zilch.
If you could spread the entire frame a couple inches(!) the door might open. Tough to do if the installation was done right.
Just cut it. Or force another door. Or make your own.
No sympathy for the owner. If they can afford this, they have plenty of money.
Drug dens are fortified with a number of imporovised security devices. Money spent to protect their investment. TO the opposite end of the spectrum Safe Rooms are popular amongst the rich and paranoid.
Never rule out finding these inside the occupancy of the well off. I agree with Nate’s take on how to gain entry. Old me says Irons…New me says Thru-The-Lock.
Suprised a fireman did not invent this door. Thanks for sharing.
From what the video and the photo show the door is sold as a completed assembly that is anchored into a wall. The likelyhood of prying both sides of the door to get past the bolts is very low. I don’t know the composition of the bolts but if they thought it out as they did with the rest of the door then cutting may take awhile if it is possible. I think that through the lock may be the best option provided they did not fortify that too. I wonder if the extrication spreader would work.
The best way in might be to breech the wall next to it and open the door from the inside.
This would likely be the place that is completely sealed up to save energy but won’t be sprinklered as it is too expensive!!!
Excellent post, thanks.
Fire conditions……try before pry, then find another door/window. If none make one.
If grandma has fallen and can’t get up, maybe then we can take our time and get throught this door. It is not impossible but not easy either.
Most (residential) security is often heaviest at the most seen door/entryway.
Sometimes we can put down our biceps and pick up our brains.
Pretty tuff door, but I’m with “me”, Try before you pry. If that don’t work, I’m finding another entrance, either a door or window. Depending on conditions of course.
I wonder if anyone has any drawings on how the door locks are laid out?
Below is a link to the manufacturer’s specs that shows three decent pictures of the lock mechanism and how it’s connected to the top/bottom bolts.
http://www.mastersecuritydoors.com/includes/pages/pdf/pdfhires/MSD_Spec_EX4_ID_Outswing.pdf
We’re gonna try to get back to the store next shift to check it out a little closer and ask a few more questions. There didn’t appear to be any visible mounting screws on the inside deadbolt knob, as you’d find with a common tubular one.
While I’m a fan of the irons, it’d take more time/effort than it’s probably worth. Even if you work around the door lip, the frame assembly seemed really solid. Other than going through the lock (sadly, we don’t have a lot of experience with that here) or loking for another entrance, we were tossing around the idea of making a vertical cut down the entire height of the door, approx. 8″ in from the lock side. Then, you could just use the irons like a normal outward door. Any thoughts?
The vertical cut the entire side of the door might work. provided that you cut so that the bolts on the top and bottom of the door are on the lock side of the cut.
as for thru the lock i am not all that experienced in this. however it looks from the video that the key has to be turned mutliple times. That leads me to believe that this is not a normal mortise lock. So i am wondering if the normal sweep between 5-7 or 10-2 would work to flip the locking mechanism. Plus i would be interested to know if the locking cylinder has been fortified in some way to prevent it from being pulled.
Im gonna go check one of these doors out and see for myself. One thing that I havent seen anyone address is that this door will be installed in wood framed ajmb in most residences, so that will be a weak point! I’d first try the irons, if that didnt work Id get the Circ saw and Bird beak cut around the locks and door knob to weaken the door. I need to see this door in person and get some pics.
And I agree with most of the posts, hitting an outward swinging door with a sledge hammer accomplishes nothing!
We have these doors (maybe a different manufacturer) in an apartment complex in the county. We blew the seals on a hydra-ram trying to force the door. The crew ended up breaching the sheetrock wall on the the side of the lock and reaching in to open the door. Not sure if they attacked the door conventional
You might not like our solution to the problem. We have a Knox Box on the front of the building. Three sets of keys are placed in it and it gets us into every door in the building.
We have a locksmith who has a door on display in his store, I will see what I can get out of him.
I say go through the glass sliding door around the C side…
JetAxe!!!
If you check their wesite http://www.mastersecuritydoors.com under products there is a PDF for every style door that shows how the door is made
Hey, I’ve been reading these articles for a while and I’ve never felt like I’ve had anything to contribute…
I want to apologize for using the E-word here, but I’m a volunteer in a combination department, so I never know what piece of apparatus I’m going to climb onto.
My first due Engine, carries brand-in-specific hydraulic spreaders and cutters. I’m sure bringing the jaws up to a burning building would raise some eyebrows, but with a solid purchase point could you perform a large scale door-pop? Something’s going to give, and it’s much beefier than a hydra/ram and/or Rabbit Tool, right?
After reviewing the manufacturer’s specs my previous comments about this being a variation on the Mul-t-lock are not exactly correct, i.e. the lower and upper bolts of this door project into the side frame and not the upper frame and floor as in the Mul-t-lock. I believe that conventional forcible entry starting at the top bolt and working your way down will ultimately be successful given enough time and muscle. The rabbit tool should be successful despite the anecdotal failure of the seals as reported above. Backup plans include breaching the wall to operate the operating mechanism (or alternatively cutting a triangle opening in the door and operating the mechanism). As a last resort cutting a door withing a door or breaching the wall as a means of entry might be alternatives.
Looks like we might have to remove the house from the door, may be a different way of approaching it…just may be quicker.
I have looked up CISA who makes the lock. This lock is set up as a complete unit when it is sold to the door maker. It looks like the only active bolts may be on the latch side with pins on the hinge side. The locking system was originally designed for high security uses such as court houses and detention centers. Many if not all the models utilize a special key which requires more than one complete turn to operate.
It looks like it may be possible to cut the door just inside of the hinges to defeat the hinges and pins. It does appear that the through the lock tactic will not work as there are several linked connectors which would prevent the bolts from being retracted without special tools.
@ Black Hat FF I think if you were able to get a good, solid purchase point, then it may work. Somethings to consider are; Available time for such undertaking, The operating PSI of the particular tool, experience of the tool operator. If this technique does work, then chances are that the door will no longer be usable. I think the best way to attack this would be try before you pry, then move on to another entry point.
It might not be possible to move onto another entry point (save for a wall breach). If the occupant went to this much trouble it is likely that other openings are high security as well. Also, this may be found as the only door into a high rise apartment with no other access or perhaps a “safe room”.
this is stupid. break a window and enter. dumb door idea
We have some of these locks in the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn, they are very popular with our Russian friends. You have to force the door conventionally and then after getting enough of a purchase you inert the halligan and place the adz on the jam. This has given us enough force to bend some of the locks and pull them out of the jamb. It is a tough lock to force, but I am thinking on this door, the fact that it is so formidable might make it a good door to pry against.
Not sure if anyone has suggested this yet…
In the “Tips from the Bucket” section, there shows a entry technique known as the “Doggy Door Cut”. I think this cut would be a great way to get this door open. When you cut below all the locking mechanisms you make one door into two parts. The lower section of the door is going to be a million times easier to open with conventional forcible entry techniques than the top will, considering you now only have to deal with 1 dead bolt on the bottom as opposed to the 5 you have to deal with on the top half of the door.
Go for the window instead…very tough door…
Facebook this one guys! And the Mayday prop. Even knowing that drop is coming would be special.
Why would a K-12 with a good blade be the bad choice here? Not talking about those girlie composite blades, but a good diamond crusted blade. Seems simple that a nice “V” cut above the latch extending down to the bottom on jamb side would swing the down out or in. If it still won’t budge then look for the top mount and bottom mount latches. not that experienced just shooting an idea out there.
I think the main thing to take away from this is that it is an outward swinging door. Very uncommon in residential construction and def not up to code. Find an easier way in. Why was time here when there are much easier faster ways to get in.
The loans seem to be useful for guys, which want to organize their own company. By the way, it is not very hard to receive a car loan.
K12 it.