Forcible Entry Techniques for Roll-Down Security Gates - American ...

● Forcible entry1718Enter 175 at fireeng.hotims.comFDIC * Booth # 3815Enter 176 at fireeng.hotims.comimportant because the storefront doors that are usually behindthese gates typically swing outward, and any remaining portionof the gate that remains after cutting may prevent thedoors from opening fully.Use caution when performing this operation, as the springloadedupper section of the gate may pull upward violentlyas the doors coil back up into the drum when released. Thisaction can exert a lot of force on the entire gate system, whichis usually attached by lag bolts to the wood or masonry walls ofthe structure. If these points of attachment are weak or compromised,the force of the door coiling up into the drum may causethe entire door system (channel rails, gate, and drum) to separatefrom the building and fall on the members working in thearea. The heat of the fire can also cause the springs to lose theirtension and allow the gate to close unexpectedly. To preventthis, secure the gate in the open position by placing a pike poleunder the bottom edge or by clamping locking pliers on thechannel rail directly below the bottom of the gate. If the gateis in a recessed pocket that would prevent the center slat frombeing pulled out to one side, you may have to make an additionalcut in the slat to divide it in two, which will allow the twosections to be pulled toward the center of the gate and removed.2Tee-Pee Cut Method (photo 21). This method, also knownas the ”Inverted Vee” method, involves making longer andmore difficult cuts than those in the Slash Cut method.• Drive the pike end of the halligan bar into the slatsabove the locks on both sides to make holes for purchase108 March 2012 FIRE ENGINEERING www.FireEngineering.com