Positive Lock System

 

Engineer Steven Negedly from Orlando Fire Dept Engine Company 9 sent in these photos of a new locking system he found during a pre-fire plan of a new big box store in his area. This system is called the Positive Lock system. From the outside, the only indication of it presence is the four carriage bolts and the lock cylinder in the middle of the door. The system operates a little different than what we are used to. However, the system is quite easy to use and even has a laminated instruction card on the key ring. Unfortunately, for this system to work the way it was intended requires us to access the buildings lockbox, and for the building owner to main the proper key in the box. We all know that there may be situations where we would take the time to access the lock box, and other times where we wouldn't. The purpose of sharing this information is give us all the heads-up on this system prior to that 3am call.

The steps to opening the door are printed on the laminated card found on the key ring. First, use the key to remove the lock cylinder. Second, insert the skeleton key (white T-shaped tool) and turn clockwise to open the door.

On the inside, this system is not much different than what we have seen before. An alarm monitored panic hardware device. The system has a lock throw that extends over an inch into the door jamb.