Sean Gray from Cobb County (GA) Company 19 sent in these photos of a homemade lock they recently found while out in their first due. The Company was out sizing-up doors and discussing forcible entry options on the different types they came across. This type of training is extremely valuable to perform periodically and keeps everyone at least thinking about different locks and forcible entry options. As you can see from the photos this is a homemade lock made from channel steel that operates similar to a Fox Lock. The obvious difference, and what makes this one a little more challenging is the absence of a key way centered on the exterior of the door. Normally the centered key way is a dead giveaway that a Fox Lock is present, and of course allows for the lock to be defeated with a through the lock technique.
As you can see from the photo below, additional sections of channel steel allow for the lock to be secured (via padlock) in either the opened or closed positions.
FIRST! Anyone. I’ve seen a few locks like this around town during inspections. Not Fox, but other commercial types. Like the post says, usually, there is a bolt that gives it away. That being said, I’ll say the obvious answer…cut a doggy door. Less obvious, how do you do it without a sa’r.
Nice pics Sean! Thanks for sharing them. So much for the emergency egress feature of the door when locked.
one of the better homemade locks i have seen, however that would be a little annoying at 3am.
Very interesting but not fool proof! Very confident a good company would get right in! I already see a possible failure point of the bars.
1. Metal door…Metal saw.
2. No saw…Whittle away with the halligan and axe
3. No saw…and a bent up dented pile of metal making
you and your halligan look silly…a box of wheaties,
a 12 lb. sledge, and 3 mins. on those cinder blocks.
Nobody ever said you HAVE to go through the door. Go around it if it’s giving you that much trouble.
All this talk on this website about irons or the saw or a jet axe or a donkey kick, Has anybody ever thought about ringing the door bell?
ding dong
This is not a homemade lock. We have a ton of these in our city.
Try before you pry. Alway have, always will.
Newbie here….
Wouldn’t the hinges on this outward swinging door be the weakest point in this particular case?
Nevermind….
Just realised the door would still be firmly held in place with the bars going into each side of the frame…
Its time for the metal saw. But as no one else has said it you can always opt for the donkey kick!
I know that more trucks, ladders, rescue engines, and other vehicles in the fire service now are carrying combi extrication tools with a portable pump. This lock looks like it had two inches at most to overcome in the door jam. This would be an excellent chioce for this style door. To be sure a hydraulic tool can “pop” this door just like a car. Just another tool in the tool box.
14th!!!
The “donkey kick” would prove ineffective.. as it seems it is an outward swinging door. I do however like the notion of a doggy door, or going through the block if needed. What about use of halligan, axe and rabbit tool or some type of hydraulic tool to spread the bar from the jam?