By Mark van der Feyst
Garage doors can present a big problem for firefighters when used as the entrance for interior operations. Whether it is a manual door or an automatic door, the possibility of it closing after firefighters have entered is very real. Typically, firefighters use pike poles to prop open the garage door.
While this may work, it is not reliable. The pike pole can easily slip out and allow the door to close. If a pike pole is going to be used, assigning a firefighter to man the pole. Another option is to use a pair of vice grips on the garage door rails. With the garage door open, the vice grip should be placed at the bottom of the door on the rail and lock it in place. Either way, the garage door needs to stay open.