ORLANDO, Fla. – Former Orlando Police Department paramedic Josh Granada is convinced 10-inch long pieces of decommissioned fire hose could actually prevent an active shooter from getting past classroom doors.
The veteran EMT now wants local schools to start using the hoses for school door defense.
“It will absolutely save lives,” Granada said, “It will actually fit over the hydraulic mechanism of the door and prevent it from swinging outward.”
Granada admits it’s not an original idea, but after seeing a Facebook report of old fire hose being used
by a school in Kansas, he decided to go public with it in hopes of bringing the safety idea to Central Florida schools.
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The concept of retired fire hose used to blunt the entrance into classroom doors originally started in schools in Arizona and has since started a trend.
In July, The Beaver County Times reported a joint program between Pennsylvania’s Ambridge Fire Department and the school district to use old hose cut into sleeves.
According to the Times, the fire hose is being used as part of a safety protocol called ALICE, an acronym for alert, lock down, inform, encounter, evacuate.
News 6, sent a video report to Orange County Public School officials Tuesday to ask if the country’s ninth-largest school district might use the sleeves as part of its safety protocol.
A spokesperson for the school system sent the following statement in an email to News 6:
”While we can’t share our security measures, I will forward this along to our safety team as a trend occurring nationwide.”
Orange County’s Fire Department does not currently provide decommissioned hose to public or private schools.
Tiffany Parker, a kindergarten teacher at Tonganoxie Elementary School in Kansas used old fire hose to line up volleyball practice drills.
Parker told reporters she decided to bring a 6-inch piece of fire hose into her classroom after the Parkland shooting. It hangs by a magnet in her class to put over the hydraulic hinge of the door.
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In Seminole County, the district’s security chief reviewed the product but decided to pass.
A school district spokesperson issued the following statement to News 6:
“While it's a unique product, we don't feel it's an option for us here in our district. There's a variety of useful and viable products on the market. We continually explore products that can further harden our campuses and keep our students and staff safe.”
Granada said he was surprised by the reaction but he will continue to promote the idea to school districts across Central Florida.