Lt. Pat Gallagher from Martin County Fire has an interesting idea for hurricane windows. He has found that a pruning saw makes quick work on them, and caries a small folding saw in his pocket for that purpose. Check out the What’s in your pockets Page for details.
11 thoughts on “Pruning Saw”
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A Glass Master also works very well.
Tom Cole
Battalion 13 B
Miami Dade Fire Rescue
Where would I acquire a sheet of glass like that?
I have had some experience with this type of glass. Actually my crew did a small training video on breaching it. After the video we had a room & contents in a structure on the beach that had the glass. The best thing we found was a cutters edge to breach it. It works quick and due to the “laminate” style of window, it comes out in 1 piece. The glass master/pruning shears not only take a long time but is extremely difficult when working over head. We attempted with an axe as well, not so good, just a work out. The final thing we attempted was a sawzall. This glass just caused the blade (Fire Rescue Blade) to dull down after a bout a 1 foot cut.
As to where you can get this glass. If your in an area that has building codes that require it, any local window company may have some. The guys in my area were great & got me LOTS!
Another note, there is also a laminate that can be applied to regular windows that causes the same effect, these are found not only in hurricae prone areas, but in twister areas. It is a “security” laminate that is applied much in the same fassion as window tint.
Stay safe
An 18v DeWalt 4-1/2″ Cut-Off Saw/Grinder Tool with a “Sabre Tooth” Blade makes great work of hurricane glass, and light forcible entry work such as small locks, chain, metal fences, etc.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Stay Safe
I work on the beach in NC and have run into a lot of them. Also I recently had a fire in a secure government building w/ “Bomb” proof glass. A plaster hook w/ point on the end works well. You can shove it through and when you pull back out (pull hard) the whole sheet will come out in one or two sections, sometimes along w/ the window sill as well.
On a side note I have heard of hitting them with a CO2 Extinguisher then hitting them with the pick of pick head axe but never tried it.
My intentions with the pruning knife are; just in case I need a way to get out from inside the structure not making entry. During my training with the tool it is basically useless if the glass is not first shattered . Once shattered, the poly-butyl plastic center liner is cut with the pruning knife making fast work of it. Sorry for the confusion.
Not sure if this is a great method. Im all for it for maybe the overhall stage. BUT, Making entry or in the case of the last response, Getting Out? I am not sure if its the best way. If your making entry you need to VES as quickly and aggresively as possible No? So to me this would take way too long. Why not Pry from the bottom popping the window lock? Then Getting the ads behind the sash and between the frame and prying it out. The Frame is fairly weak and will pop right out. With a regular window the glass would shatter ususally but not with this. Your better of doing it this way in my eyes. And if your planning on cutting the window with a knife to get out then to me your already dead…That is going to take WAY to long and if your in the need of getting out really fast this is probably not the BEST way to go about it. JUST my opinion of course…
Your assuming the window is operable. In my district, (South Florida) we have many commercial occupancies with fixed glass. The only way out, or in is by force. I believe Palm Beach Fire Rescue ran some tests on this glass and found that a carbide tipped saw blade on the K-12 worked the quickest.That would be from the outside of course. If from the interior, lets not fool ourselves, your srewed. (Theres a million dollar invention waiting to be made for somebody) Pre-planning and identifying these type occupancies is crucial, and when confronted, some depts SOP’s require an extra Eng. company just to deal with extra work to open up the windows. Stay safe.
Sarasota County FD (FLA) did rather extensive tests with Hurricane windows in 2002 and produced a video in conjunction with PGT WinGuard windows.
As for breaching Hurricane windows a chain saw or a K-12 saw is the way to go.
chainsaw works the best if on the outside of the structure. taking the frame is possible but extremely time consuming. if i remeber correctly there are 8 tapcon screws in the frame making it very solid. these windows were designed for hurricane AND burglar protection. if for somereason you are inside and have the luxury of having a sawzall-have a wood cutting blade, metal blades don’t work that well. also a good idea for these windows is to cut three sides-bottom,l,and r (like a doggy door) when you make entry- one less cut and you can reach inside and open the window if neccessary. it also leaves the window somewhat intact for ventilation afterwards but you can easily bail out of it in a hurry if you need to. just my expierence and training with it.
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