When Bodyguards Aren’t Enough
By Gina Dostler
Jim McCarthy’s Pacific Bulletproof Company started the company a decade ago to provide banks with bullet proof safes, doors and windows. And now he has been providing that same service to businesses and homes, using the highest quality products fabricated designed to keep acts of violence at bay. To date, the company claims a 100% success rate.
Q: Why prompted you to go into the bullet resistant doors and windows business?
A: Back in the ‘80s I was a sales person selling electronic security systems to banks when banks were getting robbed all the time. The extra security systems did little to reduce the robberies. I asked one of the bank managers what seemed to work best and he asked me, “Do you sell bullet proof glass?” That got me thinking. I did some research and found out through a report the FBI released, that out of all the modern day technology for bank security, bullet proof glass was by far the best deterrent for forced entry. That’s when banks started putting up bullet resistant safes, doors, and teller windows. Bank robberies dropped by about 80%. So I started up a business installing bullet resistant doors and now we’ve applied bullet resistant products in nearly 2,000 banks across the United States. We also do federal buildings, police stations and unfortunately the need has now occurred for schools to have bullet proof doors installed.
Q: Why bullet-proof a residential home?
A: Putting in bullet proof doors and windows provides the next step to securing safety where one lives. Most people have an alarm, cameras and sometimes even a safe room. An alarm just alerts the owner there has been an intrusion. The security camera captures it but what if the intruder is wearing a mask? And a safe room is purposeful by providing a place to go, but you have to get to it first. Physical security is the next level. It prevents an act of violence by forced entry from occurring in the home regardless of an attacker’s intent. We have a threat assessment specialist who is highly trained with over 25 years experience that we can send out to determine the level of security needed.
Q: Tell me about your doors.
A: The doors with a rating level of one to three can be shot at with a gun 100 plus times without breaking down. Level eight is the highest resistance and stops all high powered rifles. Practically speaking this is all one would ever need. It even stops AK47s. And the doors look just like regular doors. The core of the door is patent pending and we designed it so it is bullet resistant and forced-entry resistant. Meaning you can’t shoot or break through it with ordinary tools. Burglars are not going to be able to pry it open. The lock is a multi-point European locking hardware. And with these doors, three bolts are used: one goes into the foundation, another through the top of the door and the third into the side wall of the door.
Q: You mentioned they look like ordinary doors.
A: We know many people have spent time and money on getting the aesthetics of their door just right. We can duplicate the same style and look on our doors. We take pictures and craft one just like it. It has all the safety measures inside it to prevent forced entry. You can also pick one of the styles we make on a regular basis.
Q: What about the windows?
A: When we finish putting the bullet proof windows in, it looks like a remodeled home with nice high end European windows with proprietary glass in them. Europeans engineer make high quality products. So we took their steel frames that are forced entry resistant and made a special glass to put in it. They are what we call tilt and turn. Also we design the glass according to a customer’s needs and wants. If they want a ½ hour of forced entry and bullet resistance, we will make the glass to that level of safety.
Q: These are not your average set of home owners, are they?
A: In the past, this type of security was for very high profile people who had their own set of security experts such as body guards. It hasn’t existed for residential until just recently. Along with professional athletes, famous talk show hosts, and actors, chief executives for Fortune 500 companies have been asking us to install forced entry resistant doors and windows not only in their offices, but in their homes as well. Many of their conference rooms have bullet proof glass installed in them.
Q: But why go to such an extreme?
A: It has become more evident in our society that surveillance cameras and alarms do not keep out the violence. It only alerts them to an intruder. Having physical security ups the level of protection. Right now is the time when we need to be a little more careful with our security choices. In the security field, an electronic system is basically just a handshake and doesn’t insure or guarantee to keep things out.
Q: What is bullet resistant fiberglass and what is it used for?
A: Though many people incorrectly refer to it as Kevlar, most bullet resistant material used in safeguarding buildings is actually bullet resistant fiberglass. It’s a fiber reinforced plastic resin consisting of multiple layers of woven roving ballistic grade fiberglass cloth impregnated with a thermoset resin and compressed into rigid flat sheets. For residential use, you’ll find it lining the safe rooms. It qualifies for LEEDS points and is a green product.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Jim McCarthy
President
Pacific Bulletproof Co
4985 E Landon Dr
Anaheim, CA 92807
Phone: 714-630-5447 *225
Toll Free: 888-358-2309
Fax: 714-630-5314
