BY JEFF CROW
Imagine this scenario: It’s three o’clock in the morning, and you and your fire company are en route to a reported house fire, rolling down the streets with lights and siren. As you don your protective gear, you hear the dispatcher relaying further information: “We’re getting multiple reports of people trapped.” You arrive moments later to find a wood-frame house heavily involved; thick smoke is boiling from one vented bedroom window. Two cars are parked in the driveway, and neighbors are standing next door in their nightclothes, pointing frantically and yelling something about people inside. At the front door you see the first-in engine company working to advance a hoseline into the building. Then you notice that burglar bars cover every window and realize that not only are the lives of the trapped occupants threatened but also the lives of your fellow firefighters. The incident commander (IC) approaches your crew and barks orders, “Get those burglar bars off NOW!” What do you do?
According to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), at least 25 civilians are killed or injured each year in fires in buildings that have burglar bars.
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