Tucson House Fire Reveals Risk of Automated Security Gates

Late Monday night, a house in Tucson caught fire and the firefighters who showed up in five minutes couldn’t get in.

That detail got one line in most local coverage. It deserves a lot more than that.

A House on Fire, a Gate That Wouldn’t Move

At 9:52 PM on October 20, the Tucson Fire Department was dispatched to a house fire in the 1000 block of East Ginter Road, near Park and Valencia.

Engine 14 arrived within five minutes. What they found was a one-story home fully engulfed in flames. And in front of it was a non-functioning electric gate blocking their path…