Timothy Papp from New Haven (CT) Fire Dept sent in these photos of something he found while replacing some decking at a friend’s house. The house has the bilco basement doors completely covered by the deck. Fortunately the deck had an access panel built into it, but this may not have been noticeable on the initial 360 of the structure. If this was the only basement entry point, this could certainly lead to a delay in access during operations. Of if crews were making a push from the inside, this secondary means of egress may even be known about. Another thing to consider is that these doors would only be able to be opened from the outside. When performing your 360, make sure your are not only looking at what the building is telling you, but you should also take notice of what the building is not telling you.
that is interesting
Picture that at three in the morning, with a foot of snow on top of it..
Just had the same thing in Baltimore City a few weeks ago. Squad 40’s first due area for a Working basement fire. Home had nice glass block for windows in basement under the deck that presented a real challenge. About a 24″ clearance under the deck to lay sideways and sledge hammer through the glass block for ventilation
Man, this would definately be an interesting event in case of a floor collapse w/ff’s going down into the basement. Once you found the door… if you found the door. You would still have to worry about the BBQ tongs on the other side. With no latch or handle visible from top side, I could predict that this entrance would more than likely not be found very easily and hopefully the egress from within would be possible. Good find, you always learn a lot about building construction during demo, solid work.
Not a bad idea by the home owner covers the doors quite well, bad for firefighters, a good size up is not going to let you see that at 3 am. I could walk around that deck 3 time and not see it.
We have one of these on my house. We put it in before I became a fireman! The best way to open it, with what you have in your gear, is a screwdriver.
I hate to see how they hid the electric meter.
You didnt notice the power drop to the dog dish?
so how would one open it without destroying it?
I think the easiest and least destructive method for gaining access is to drop a few Centaur Stomps. That should do the trick!
On a more serious note. I think if you are in a situation where you need to open that bulkhead for egress or rescue, and you could actually find it, destroying it would be your last concern. But it appears a few passes with a saarr should take care of the floor joists. After that (hopefully) it should open like a regular bulkhead door.
I am fully aware that if it a dire emergency that you shouldn’t worry about destroying the opening to get access to the door. But what if you end up there on a medic call and the only way to get the person out is out that door. Because it seems to me that you will not be able to open it up from the inside
If that is the only way out, then I don’t see anyway that you can access it without destroying it. Just make straight cuts with the saw and make it look pretty.
I agree with Keith. If it is the only way out. You have to do, what you have to do to get the patient out.
Guys I’m from the midwest and don’t think I’ve ever seen this in our basements. What are bilco doors? Does anyone have a better picture of what they look like?
Google, “bilco doors”. Click on images at the top and you will see what they are. It’s just a basement access door with a poured concrete “well” leading to a basement door. I guess you could frame up a “well” but not sure it would make any sense. But who knows what people do in the rural parts. I grew up in the northeast and they are pretty common there. Not sure exactly what areas of the country they are prevalent but I can say I haven’t seen any in Florida.
If you’re there on a medical call and can’t open it from the inside, send someone to the outside to at least see why. If it’s got an access panel like this one, take it out and open the door. One could also ask the occupant as well.
The section above the door is framed independently of the main part of the deck. The section is dropped into place inside the box around the Bilco. Here in the Northeast, this is not that uncommon. Some designs incorporate hinges, while others are like this, a drop in. You must pry the section up until it clears the main decking and drag it to the side. It will come out as one unit, decking and joists. Just keep in mind the weight of the section. Even a small section framed with 2×6 or 2×4 framing and 5/4″ decking will be heavy, and may require a couple of people to remove. Check for flush-mount hardware, like tie-down loops used as handles to aid in the removal. Most of these are built so that the homeowner will be able to remove them alone.
A friend of mine has a 100+ year-old house with the back porch decking covering the Bilco. This is the only access to the basement, which contains all of the utilities. My own house has the original opening for the Bilco door, but it was removed years ago and an enclosed back porch was added. However, this still makes for a head-knocker if you’re not careful. Watch out for these as the only means of access/egress in old houses…
I know this house. The pannel has lift tabs installed on the top. Yes it would be hard to see in the 360 but with the lifting rings installed on the floor it would trigger me to look when I was walking on the deck. Now In this area of the country snow could cover it if the home owner didnt clear the whole deck. In the mid-atlantic to the northeast basments with bilco doors are the norm. Not many older homes that dont have a basemnt. In my area I know plenty of basements that are still dirt.
nice work but this won’t pass any local code standards in the world and is extremely dangerous. there is a reason why bilco doors are build with a certain slope – it is so that snow can’t pile up but more importantly you can’t rest (or leave) anything on top of it to hinder access from the inside.. to the person who said you can just ‘ask the patient’ – what if the patient is having a heart attack and they’re unconsious? seconds are a matter of life and death.. the only solution that might work is by building an ‘elevated table’ like structure on top of the bilco door so that there is no obstruction with opening the door .. the bottom line – you lose all the space that the door takes up (open & closed) ..
bfny,
I agree that this is dangerous and can be missed, I was just conveying that I don’t think the medical call scenario holds water. Not trying to talk EMS, but if the patient is that dire, and chances are and you need to get them out the Bilcos (as opposed to the way that you came in), I’m guessing your stretcher isn’t already on the backside of the house. Kind of makes the “seconds count” argument moot. If the only occupant of the house is unconscious, I’m taking the sure route and going back out the way we came in, especially if they locked the Bilcos outside.
As an HVAC service tech(in CT), I have seen this before. I am new to the fire service and see the real problem. Going into so many different houses and some commercial buildings through the past 10 years and still get surprised with some construction methods and ideas that should have been left on the drawing board.