Emergency door opening
An emergency door opening is understood as the forced entry into a locked room due to an emergency situation . Such an emergency situation can be necessary on the one hand by people in an emergency, but also justified by other circumstances (e.g. a fire ).
If helpless people or people in distress are suspected in the living room, one usually speaks of a door opening with a suspected accident . The aim of opening the emergency door is to give the rescue workers access and to provide help to the helpless person. In most cases, these emergency door openings are required after accidents, acute illnesses or attempted suicide and are requested by the police , emergency services or relatives. Before the door can be opened by the fire brigade, there must be evidence of an accident. These can e.g. B. an overflowing mailbox, a generally poor general condition or, as a sure indicator, calls for help from the apartment. However, if the door is opened without reliable evidence of a danger, d. H. if there is a risk of putative , this measure is illegal. In the case of administrative assistance, the requesting authority (e.g. police) must answer for its legality.
An emergency door is also opened if there are other damage situations: This can be a (emerging) fire, but also a technical defect (e.g. burst water pipe ), which requires the intervention of the emergency services to avert greater damage. Emergency door opening usually also includes a door that has slammed if the stove is switched on in the living room or there are small children or people who require supervision or care in the household.
Methods
Under certain circumstances, simply “kicking in” the door can already be successful. However, since people who have had an accident may lie directly behind the door, the emergency services usually do without this method. A hydraulic door opener , with which many doors can be opened quickly, is much more effective here . If this device is not available at fire brigades , they use other aids such as crowbars , spreader , fire ax , hammer , ram , Ziehfix , Halligan tool or, for wooden doors, a chainsaw .
Sometimes access via a second escape route (e.g. window or balcony) is easier. In addition, it may cause less damage to property and personal injury.
In cases of heavily secured doors, for example in warehouses, coarser methods such as welding torches or cut-off machines can also be used. Ramming a vehicle or even the use of explosives, on the other hand, usually only appears in films. The ratio of effort to benefit as well as possible injuries to rescuers must always be taken into account. The decision is made by the respective head of operations, who is also responsible.
The situation is different for ships at sea. If there is suspicion that there are goods on a ship that are subject to a trade embargo or a ship has been hijacked by pirates, access technicians from the boarding company of the German Navy create access to the ship or to the container to be searched using mechanical and ballistic, but also explosive opening methods.
Easy door opening
From the door breaching the "normal" or even simple door opening is to distinguish which is usually of a key service is performed. In rare exceptional cases, this can also be carried out by the fire brigade if it does not compete with a locksmith.
The tools for opening doors are mostly door opening irons and Ziehfixes , possibly also cylinder milling machines or other, less destructive methods. Here, too, a route through other entrances (windows etc.) may be more cost-effective, especially since there is no emergency situation. According to the recommendation of the German Metal Association, the locksmith should not charge more than € 127 for this so-called simple door opening.
Reimbursement of costs for the fire brigade
Compared to the emergency door opening, the simple door opening by the fire brigade is subject to a fee. The fire brigade laws, ordinances, statutes and fee statutes of the federal states, districts and municipalities provide more detailed information.
Locksmith prices
If the door is opened by a locksmith, this must also be paid for. A new study on the prices of German locksmiths shows, however, that there is a lot of trickery and rip-offs when it comes to payment, because around 56% of locksmiths are too expensive, as this shows. In general, the costs vary greatly depending on the state and region. In Berlin , for example, a simple door opening costs only € 69 during the day, while in Rhineland-Palatinate it costs € 151.
See also
- Fire brigade breaking tools
literature
- Frank Hüsch: Die Rote Hefte, Heft 205 - Door opening . 4th, expanded and revised edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2018, ISBN 978-3-17-032169-4 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Sven Buchenau: Doors opened by the fire brigade - from a legal point of view . In: www.feuerwehrmagazin.de. Feuerwehr-Magazin, January 16, 2020, accessed April 25, 2020 .
- ^ Olaf Preuschoff: Tools in the internal attack: Halligan Tool and Co. In: www.feuerwehrmagazin.de. Feuerwehr-Magazin, April 13, 2019, accessed April 25, 2020 .
- ^ Federal Association of Metal. Retrieved on August 10, 2020 (German).
- ↑ Germany-wide price study on key services 2020. Mellon Services GmbH, 2020, accessed on August 10, 2020 (German).