Captain Scott Allison, of Tower 1 in Harrisonburg (VA) sent in these pictures of something they recently encountered on an odor investigation call at a cell phone store. Take a look at the pictures and we’ll talk about it below.
You might not expect to find this level of security on a fully interior room. As we mentioned in the intro this was found in a cell phone store. These stores have been subject to a significant amount of after-hours break in’s due to the high value and small size of the product. As a result, the stores are going to extreme measures to secure the product.
Obviously roll down doors are not frequently found in a small mercantile occupancies like this. In addition to the roll down, the spilt barn door offers two fox style-locking mechanisms. From the outside the presence of the centered key-way and straps should alert you to the fox style locks.
Obviously the likelihood of this door being fully secure with someone inside is not high, but it’s not impossible either. If encountered in a working fire after hours, this room would certainly need to be accessed and investigated. While to door itself is quite secure, odds are the wall around the door would typically be the weakest link. However if you look closely, in this case, it looks like the walls inside the room are lined with painted plywood. Making the wall breach option a little slower than usual.
Something else to consider making the job a bit easier would be to pull the fire alarm if it is not already sounding. In this case you can see that the fox style locks are activated electronically via a proximity card reader. Typically supplemental electric locks like this are opened when the fire alarm is sounding. It’s not a foolproof method by any means, but it if it works all you’re faced with after the rollup is defeated is the traditional deadbolt and slam latch.
Like in many cases, a well thought out traditional force would most likely would be the quickest option. Identifying and visualizing what locking mechanisms are present and attacking the door in a calculated fashion would certainly get you in. The lower door has the fewest locking mechanisms (one slam latch and two bars) so it should be the primary objective.
Did John Norman submit this post? Good job on the information, I will pass it along to my guys.
I know I’m a day late and a dollar short to this thread, but if you look at the outside wide-view of the door, note the roll down security door that is also present. The roll down door is secured to the exterior of that wall with large bolts that pass all the way through the door jamb to the interior where they are mounted to the plywood.