photos courtesy of the Ridgewood Professional Firefighters FMBA Local 47
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, on Tuesday, April 9th the Village of Ridgewood posted on their Facebook page regarding a progam for where the Fire Department will be distributing bright blue lockboxes to put on elderly resident’s doors.
The Ridgewood Fire Department and the Ridgewood Police Department, in partnership with Age-Friendly Ridgewood, have launched Operation Blue Angel, a program designed to assist Ridgewood residents who live alone (or are alone for extended periods of time on a regular basis) and have a medical condition or special need that may prevent them from getting to the door in the event of an emergency.
The voluntary program allows Fire, Emergency Medical Services and Police to gain entry to a resident’s home without unnecessary delays or potential damage to doors or windows when a resident is unable to answer the door.
Participants in Operation Blue Angel receive a free and secure lock box, which is placed on one of the doors of the home. A key to the resident’s home is stored in the lock box, and the confidential access code is placed on file with the Ridgewood Fire Department. In the event of an emergency, a first responder will access the lock box and use the key to enter the home.
“We currently have 60 locks at the firehouse and the ability to purchase more if the program takes off,” said Ridgewood Fire Chief John T. Judge (pictured). “The goal is to give at-risk residents peace of mind in the event of a medical or life-threatening emergency. I encourage eligible residents to seriously consider participating in this program. It can be a lifeline.”
Pictured with the locks is Fire Chief John Judge, as well as the make and model of the locks available
Unfortunately, these highly visible locks that can be seen from the street are known to be flawed and very easy for even a novice to break into in under two minutes.
The Ridgewood blog discovered videos on Youtube showing how easy it was to pick the locks .
This leaves our most vulnerable elderly residents susceptible to theft as well as the possibility for violence against them. It’s unclear where the original funding for the purchase of these locks has come from, but Judge is quoted to say that he will purchase more, presumably at taxpayer expense.
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They say never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by ignorance, but that always gives malice the perfect cover, doesn’t it?
So aside from being a giant advertisement that an elderly (probably defenseless) individual is ripe for the pickings (pun most certainly intended and joke definitely on you) it’s also touted as a way to prevent damage to property? If you have to choose between saving granny and breaking a window, I think the choice is clear but I’m no fire chief.
I just watched a couple of those videos. Special tools are required to perform the task at hand. Those same tools could be used to pick a standard lock. This post is much to do about nothing.
Wrong.
Now the bad actors KNOW which houses to hit.
gee you think ….
The lockbox doesn’t have to be put on the front door. It can be placed somewhere out of sight because the fire department will know where it is in their computer database.
That defeats the purpose of these boxes
These lockbox can be decoded by sight, no tools required, and YouTube shows you how. Utter incompetence, or maybe RFD needs to supplement their incomes?
a total waste of money and not safe for the elderly
plus it announces to all who go by the house some old elderly person lives here who needs help
where is the privacy today????
is there a master key to be able to enter any home lock that the fire dept or police could use????
i would NOT get one on my door
Thanks for the thought, but no way.
Another Feel good idea that is a total fail.
“The Ridgewood blog discovered videos on Youtube showing how easy it was to pick the locks”. Investigative journalism at its finest. Youtube couch detectives
so when your grandmother gets murdered you can pat yourself on the back as a stupid idiot
guess the kickbacks on this were large
while I commend the Fire Department on their efforts , I have several concerns:
1)are we not informing the criminal element that the elderly live here ?
2) the ease of picking the locks makes them less safe, is the best we can do ?