How would a lay burglar go about breaking into somebody's house?
A common method is to smash a panel in the door – or reach through the letterbox – and unlock the door from inside. That is why most security advise nowadays calls for a lock that can only be opened from inside by a using a key. Alternatively they could get in through a window. However, getting out the same way is not so easy when they are burdened down with their victim's TV or DVD player. It would be much easier to open the back door and leave that way – which is another reason for fitting a lock that is secure from both inside and out.
Unfortunately, all this poses a dilemma. What happens if there is a fire or other emergency and the residents have to leave in a hurry? Time spent searching for a key to unlock the door could prove fatal, and so safety regulations call for a lock that can be opened from inside using only a handle or thumbturn.
All this was highlighted recently in a government advertising campaign on television where individuals were heard suffering the effects of smoke fumes while locked inside their own homes – because they could not find the key to unlock and escape. This is being followed up by an investigation requested by the ODPM and Fire Services into a solution to resolve the safety versus security issue for domestic dwellings.
Many lock manufacturers are designing and supplying locks that address this issue.
The modular 2000 lock was introduced by ASSA to solve this puzzle. In normal use, it can be unlocked from inside by using a thumbturn to ensure safety. By flicking a snib as they leave, residents can put the lock into secure mode – after which a key is needed to open it from inside. Unlocking the door again automatically resets the 2000 into safe mode, thus offering safe escape without the use of a key when the building is occupied – and high security, even from the inside, when the owner has left the building and locked the door.
The 2000 lock is sold through ASSA stockists boxed as a completed package, with all necessary components included: lock, lever furniture, back plates and thumbturn, and a patented security cylinder with keys.
The Modular 2000 lock – safety when you need it, security when you don't.
(An extract from ASSA Security News issue 28) |
