Posted: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 4:00 pm

In a project covering all of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s operational area, Bilco has teamed up with J Greenwood Builders Ltd to provide roof access hatches for the service’s drill towers. The move will ensure the safety of training firefighters for many years to come.  

During the project, 14 Bilco S-50T hatches were installed to provide access through the ceiling of the top floor of drill towers to the tower roof areas. The objective was both to provide access for maintenance and to ensure safe exit and entry to the roof area for fire fighters during training.  

The Bilco hatches were supplied and fitted to the drill towers over a number of months in a programme which began earlier this year.   

The S-50T hatches measure 915 x 760 mm and provide easy one-hand operation to allow users on ladders to maintain a firm grip on the ladder while opening and closing the hatches.  

J Greenwood Builders said: “The Bilco hatches were specified by Faithful and Gould, the property consultants employed to oversee the drill towers project. Some of the hatches have been in place now for a number of weeks and their use has proved extremely successful.”  

The design of hinges and other features ensures that the hatches are resistant to the effects of ageing and weather in exposed locations.  

The hatches feature a fully overlapping cover design and fully welded corners to ensure a weather-tight installation. A heavy gauge construction and positive latching mechanism ensure the safety of fire fighters on the roof on the drill towers at all times.  

“In addition to the Bilco hatches, we installed a number of 1,100 mm high handrails on the roof space of each drill tower. The combination of the hatches and the handrails will ensure that fire fighters can continue to carry out realistic training whilst maintaining safety in a protected environment,” concluded J Greenwood Builders.