Joe Barr from Pine Hill (NJ) sent in these photos of something they ran into on a recent run. The cages are not visible at all from the outside due to the window covering and the setback of the jamb. They are starting to notice these more throughout the area. The resident claimed that she is supposed to open the cages for the fire department if there were ever a fire. Some of the cages are locked by a master lock, and this one, blocked from opening by furniture. This makes opening them not a quick and easy task for the resident to accomplish. Whenever we are operating in a structure with blocked egress windows like this, some immediate attention should be given to their removal. Leaving something like this in place while crews are operating inside could put us behind the call if we needed to remove a victim, or even worse, one of us. Fortunately, these can be removed easily from the inside with a set of irons, the trick is identifying them, and prioritizing their removal.
Is that the same resident that is supposed to wake everyone up if there’s a fire when there’s no smoke detectors because she’ll smell the smoke and wake up.
…question mark
Wow! I never new interior burgular bars could be so beautiful, are they trying to keep people in or out.
Go ahead, ask away…..
Sorry Dman, couldn’t help m’sef.
😉
Many Firemen look at this security device from the wrong side. Most will look at confronting this device when entering from the window. In reality you are in a safe position if trying to force your way IN from the exterior because you can always withdraw if the entry becomes untenable. My greater concern is if one of us is searchign this room on the fire floor or the floor above and conditions deteriorate to the point that you have to bail out. This becomes a Forcible EXIT issue and becoming trapped increases greatly.
Many techniques to use with regard to removing or opening them…including the ever loved “donkey kick” which mind you can only be performed from the exterior as this gate swings inward.
Be mindful of the security devices in your response area that will prevent YOU from getting OUT as opposed to in. These will kill us more often than not.
Stay Safe fellas
After looking at this, most city guys would scratch their heads when they pulled up on this for a call. Here’s why, most likely what tripped Joe or the guys to take a closer look… They are in the city, who in their right mind would leave the windows open with no exterior burglar bars on the first floor? You’re just asking to be robbed, hence the interior burglar cage comes into play, sparing the residents from a home invasion or robbery.
We almost come to expect a security device on first floor windows and doors in the city, so when nothing is evident from the outside, further investigation is normally warranted to find out how they keep the bad guys out, just so we can remove it before it becomes a hazard for us.