Is your home ready for an emergency?

Have you stopped to think where your garage door, keypad or automatic gate fits into that plan?

You likely have an emergency plan for your home: a family meeting spot, the fastest exit route from every bedroom, emergency supplies pre-packed. But have you stopped to think where your garage door, keypad or automatic gate fits into that plan?

Most people don’t think about them in an emergency until….the emergency. And that’s a problem because they control entering and leaving your home, a crucial piece of any emergency plan. So how do you open a garage door or gate manually? Will your front gate keypad keep working? What happens if it doesn’t?

Below is a breakdown of what to know about your doors and gates to keep you and your family safe during an emergency:

Garage Doors

Check out this article for why garage doors in California require battery backups. So in the event of a power outage, new garage door operators should still be functional — at least for a day or so. If the power is out for an extended period of time, you can release your garage door from its operator by pulling the (usually red) pull cord hanging from the bar connecting the operator rail to the garage door. Your owners manual will have instructions for the specific make and model of your garage door. Once the door is disconnected from the operator, it functions just like any manual overhead door. Garage doors are heavy so be careful opening them manually and keep children away when they’re open.

Automatic Gates

For automatic gates, a release mechanism, like a keyhole, lever or knob on the motor, should disengage the gate from the operator and allow it to be opened manually if the power is off. This often involves using a physical key provided when the operator was installed. Your owners manual for your gate operator will tell you specifically what/where your release mechanism is as it depends on what type of gate you have. For slide gates, the gate can typically be disconnected from the operator by using the built-in manual release switch or lever, allowing the gate to be moved freely by hand.

In the event of emergency responders needing to gain entrance to your property, consider adding a fire key switch to your gate’s access security system. The key switch, also called a Knox Box, is only accessible to the fire department. If it is ever switched on, which holds the gate open, the fire department has to come back out with the key to close it. 

Access Security Systems

Depending on how your access security system is set to function, you may not need to open doors and gates during an emergency. When the power goes out, many systems are set to fail-secure, staying closed to prevent entry in the case of a power outage, though. That’s why you’ll likely need to be sure you know how to manually open gates (and doors) synced to the system. Many keypads used for garage doors and locks around your home run on batteries, so those parts of an access security system would still function normally during a power outage. 

We’d be happy to outline the settings of your particular access security system with you during a service call so you’re familiar with it when it matters most!