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Glynn County, GA - Are hurricane
windows a reason for concern for firefighters? Glynn County firefighters, in a
special training exercise made possible by Pella and Andersen windows, confirmed
that they are.
With all of the attention being
placed on protecting ones property against a hurricane, seemingly little
attention has been given to ones safety or the safety of firefighters who are
likely to encounter these extremely strong windows. The Glynn County Fire
Department, with the aid of Pella
and Andersen windows, as part of an
ongoing fire school, learned about these windows during a training session
Saturday April 30.
Participants in the class where given
a presentation about history of hurricane windows, the requirements that they
must meet before being considered impact resistant, and previously tried methods
of opening hurricane windows.
With the visual aids and videos
provided by both Pella and Andersen windows, personnel where able to see first
hand how these windows are constructed. Following the presentation personnel
proceeded outside where donated window units were waiting for them to attempt to
get through.
The Pella window unit was used during
forcible entry training. While the second unit, donated by Andersen windows
will be used later this month. That window will be used during a live fire
exercise at the end of this recruit school to see what affects fire and heat may
have on the windows and their resistance to penetration.
Wearing full protective gear,
including a self contained breathing apparatus, personnel experienced the
difficulties in breaching one of these windows. Personnel began with the
standard personal rescue tools that are typically carried in their turnout
gear. These tools included spanner wrenches, rescue axes and knives. After
just a few minutes of working with these tools it became obvious that these were
not the tools of choice.
Personnel then proceeded to use other
hand tools located on the engines. These included a halligan tool, flat head
and pick head axes, pike poles and hammers. With only a slight improvement over
the smaller hand tools it was determined that hand tools, of any size, were not
suited for this job.
While the glass was being broken and
some progress was being made with the hand tools it was determined that hand
tools were not the desired tool for the job and personnel resorted to the use of
power tools. These tools included a chain saw and cut-off saw with both a metal
blade and wood blades. The chain saw and wood bladed cut-off saw made quick
work of the window.
Other techniques attempted included
using a torch to heat the glass and using a CO2 extinguisher and trying to
freeze it. Neither technique had any appreciable affect on the window unit.
Time, time, and more time is what is
needed to get through these door and window units. That’s a luxury that we, as
firefighters, don’t always have. Fire department personnel need proper training
to identify these types of windows and must notify their incident commanders
once identified. All aspects of fire fighting, tactics and operations must be
re-evaluated and modified if these windows are present.
Glynn County Fire Department
personnel videoed the entire exercise with the intention of having it available
for future classes. All of the personnel present learned valuable information
about, what is becoming, a much more common obstacle that fire departments
everywhere will need to be aware. With the aid of Pella and Andersen windows
the Glynn County Fire Department is better prepared for the next time that they
come into contact with one of these windows.
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