Fire Brigade Access To Property

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#1873354 26-Sep-2017 21:08

sir1963:

{snip}property is at risk, they will be unlikely to even slow for the gates.

Likewise for a vehicle that may be blocking their access (eg inconsiderate parkers), they will just keep going.

When was the last time you saw a NZ fire truck with damage done by ramming something?

It doesn't happen, it's not "Backdraft".

They *might* go through a wire fence in a paddock, but they won't do anything to put an appliance out of action. What happens if it causes damage to the pumps?

What happens to the next call they get? "Oh, bro, sorry about your house and family, but we had to ram this gate..."

tchart

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#1873361 26-Sep-2017 21:29

Virgil:

If it is monitored directly by the fire brigade (thinking commercial premises here) then yes, keys, access cards and access codes are supplied to and held at the local fire station, when the alarm is triggered the key code is passed to the brigade and they bring the keys with them when responding.

If it is monitored by a 3rd party, eg ADT, then no, FENZ will not have direct access to these codes. You would supply the code to the alarm monitoring company, and have this company badge displayed somewhere obvious. When the brigade arrives, they will request the alarm company's attendance to gain access.

Unless the place is obviously on fire of course, in which case they will force access

Agree with the above.

I've done IT projects with NZFS/FENZ. AFAIK they don't retain access plans/keys/codes etc for "normal" residential properties (high rises being an exception).

Pumpedd

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#1873372 26-Sep-2017 21:54

Seems a time waster in the event of a real emergency.

I am sure the local fire station doesnt have a peg board with a set of keys for every property. They would use brute force but it would still take extra time.

Geektastic

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#1873395 26-Sep-2017 22:42

I emailed our alarm monitoring company contact.

Yes they hold such information, which comes up on the operator's screen when the alarm is activated. When they contact the emergency services they pass it on.

They're pretty fast, as we discovered not long after moving in. SWMBO, being unfamiliar with ancient heating devices like woodburners, threw open the door one Sunday morning at 0730, releasing clouds of wood smoke into the kitchen/living room. Alarm goes off, waking me from my rest. I stumble out just as she turns off the alarm.

About 4 minutes later, the local lads turn up in the fire truck....

Made a lot of tea and bacon sandwiches that morning!

Batman

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#1873403 26-Sep-2017 23:10

Geektastic:

I emailed our alarm monitoring company contact.

Yes they hold such information, which comes up on the operator's screen when the alarm is activated. When they contact the emergency services they pass it on.

They're pretty fast, as we discovered not long after moving in. SWMBO, being unfamiliar with ancient heating devices like woodburners, threw open the door one Sunday morning at 0730, releasing clouds of wood smoke into the kitchen/living room. Alarm goes off, waking me from my rest. I stumble out just as she turns off the alarm.

About 4 minutes later, the local lads turn up in the fire truck....

Made a lot of tea and bacon sandwiches that morning!

And a $1500 false call out fee?

JamjarsNZ

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#1873408 26-Sep-2017 23:49

When I worked in the UK fitting security doors to high rise buildings, we always fitted a Firemans Entry switch. Every building has the same panel and we sometimes fitted them to security gates at schools etc. Then each fire truck only needed 1 key. I always wondered what they did here.

Suckerpunch

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#1873423 27-Sep-2017 07:34

Virgil:

If it is monitored directly by the fire brigade (thinking commercial premises here) then yes, keys, access cards and access codes are supplied to and held at the local fire station, when the alarm is triggered the key code is passed to the brigade and they bring the keys with them when responding.

If it is monitored by a 3rd party, eg ADT, then no, FENZ will not have direct access to these codes. You would supply the code to the alarm monitoring company, and have this company badge displayed somewhere obvious. When the brigade arrives, they will request the alarm company's attendance to gain access.

Unless the place is obviously on fire of course, in which case they will force access

This is accurate.

But forcing access won't be ramming the gate with their truck. They'll probably use the jaws of life to force it open.

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clevedon

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#1873425 27-Sep-2017 07:51

Pumpedd:

Seems a time waster in the event of a real emergency.

I am sure the local fire station doesnt have a peg board with a set of keys for every property. They would use brute force but it would still take extra time.

Our local Fire Brigade have our gate keys, and lots of other property owners keys/codes in our area.

Ge0rge

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#1873427 27-Sep-2017 08:07

Suckerpunch:
They'll probably use the jaws of life to force it open.

And what's your "probably" theory for those brigades that don't carry the so-called jaws of life? Or to be more technically correct, when the first responding appliance is not a PRT? Based on where the OP lives, of the three nearest appliances, and that's two different brigades, none are rescue trucks - so there'll be no jaws of life used.

This probably comes across as quite snarky, and I'm not going to apologise for that. There are comments made in this thread by people who obviously have no idea what they are talking about but yet spout forth such bull-dust as to make themselves sound authoritive. Anyone reading such comments could easily think such twaddle is true and it grinds my gears.

/rant

OP - get in touch with your local chief - he's a good bloke and will be more than happy to dicusss ways and means to gain access in an emergency. He can also let comms know, so they can inform any other brigade responding if the locals aren't first, which is often the case for you during the day - the brigade further west gets turned out as well.

timmmay

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#1873431 27-Sep-2017 08:24

I didn't realise rural New Zealand was so dangerous! Maybe you could have your armed guard open the gates if something catches fire? ;)

Geektastic

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#1873442 27-Sep-2017 08:58

Batman:

Geektastic:

I emailed our alarm monitoring company contact.

Yes they hold such information, which comes up on the operator's screen when the alarm is activated. When they contact the emergency services they pass it on.

They're pretty fast, as we discovered not long after moving in. SWMBO, being unfamiliar with ancient heating devices like woodburners, threw open the door one Sunday morning at 0730, releasing clouds of wood smoke into the kitchen/living room. Alarm goes off, waking me from my rest. I stumble out just as she turns off the alarm.

About 4 minutes later, the local lads turn up in the fire truck....

Made a lot of tea and bacon sandwiches that morning!

And a $1500 false call out fee?

Nope. This is the countryside, we do things differently here.

Geektastic

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#1873446 27-Sep-2017 09:06

timmmay:

I didn't realise rural New Zealand was so dangerous! Maybe you could have your armed guard open the gates if something catches fire? ;)

I would if I could....!

It's not dangerous per se, of course, although the police response from Masterton would be 30 minutes at least and there have been a couple of incidents of nutters on the loose in the time I have been here. It's burglary, mainly. We get a lot of random vehicles coming up the drive and turning round for no apparent reason which is suspicious behaviour in my book and relatively frequently we get burglary sprees in the rural properties. Anything you can do to make it harder for them increases the likelihood they will just pick something easier.

Also keeps the Jehovahs out as well as an added bonus, of course!

Geektastic

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#1873447 27-Sep-2017 09:08

JamjarsNZ:

When I worked in the UK fitting security doors to high rise buildings, we always fitted a Firemans Entry switch. Every building has the same panel and we sometimes fitted them to security gates at schools etc. Then each fire truck only needed 1 key. I always wondered what they did here.

Sensible (unless burglars manage to get the key too, I suppose!).

Coil

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#1873497 27-Sep-2017 10:15

Relating to this, A friend of mine who lives in Devonport has a weird curbside and he has to cross a FH to get into his driveway. Without noticing I had parked across such Hydrant for them to tell me "If there was a fire the truck would ram your car out the way to access the hydrant."
Would they I wonder? I have a fireman sitting behind me at work, I'll find out soon.

scuwp

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#1873512 27-Sep-2017 10:43

clevedon:

Pumpedd:

Seems a time waster in the event of a real emergency.

I am sure the local fire station doesnt have a peg board with a set of keys for every property. They would use brute force but it would still take extra time.

Our local Fire Brigade have our gate keys, and lots of other property owners keys/codes in our area.

Fine in rural areas where there are limited properties and only a single brigade. In the cities the brigade could come from anywhere and just imagine the size of the key ring needed!

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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