# 911 Respondents and Door Codes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-respondents-and-door-codes/484165>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 2, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-respondents-and-door-codes/484165 "2009-02-02T23:07:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-respondents-and-door-codes/484165/21 "2009-02-05T21:03:21Z")

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> [@Rigamarole](#):
>
> Weird, I’ve never seen a buzz box that works like that. The ones here require you to key in a number that corresponds to a certain tenant (such as #08), and that patches through to their phone, where you can speak to them through the intercom and they buzz you by pressing a number on the touch-tone pad.

Depends on the age of the construction (and how recently it’s been renovated.) When I lived in Chicago, the apartment buildings in my neighbourhood mostly dated from the '30s and '40s. Almost all of them had wired-in intercoms of the type **ltfire** describes — that or a doorman.

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**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-respondents-and-door-codes/484165/22 "2009-02-06T07:59:59Z")

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What about this?

[http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=xtreme&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=55-099&SDesc=FatMax%26%23174%3B+Xtreme%26%238482%3B+Fubar%26%238482%3B+Functional+Utility+Bar](http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=xtreme&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=55-099&SDesc=FatMax%26%23174%3B+Xtreme%26%238482%3B+Fubar%26%238482%3B+Functional+Utility+Bar)

a FUBAR ?!?!?

FUBAR SMASH!!!

GRRRRR!!!

Oh, and my building has a Knox Box as well. I don’t know whether or not is has keys in it.

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**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-respondents-and-door-codes/484165/23 "2009-02-06T13:06:50Z")

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Lacking a Knok Box (which in my town, by ordinance, any building with a fire alarm connected to the fire department’s box system has a Knox Box) personally, I’ve been a through-the-lock sort of forcible entry guy for the no-keyholder-but-no-smoke-either stuff. Very little damage, and it usually only takes me a couple of minutes, if that.

Besides, you look like MacGyver when you pull your K-tool and picks out.

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**Author:** ![AZRob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/azrob/32/3003_2.png) [@AZRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZRob)\
**Post date:** [March 1, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911-respondents-and-door-codes/484165/24 "2009-03-01T03:11:05Z")

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At my police department, we typically have the entry code for a building or gated complex in the Dispatch computer and can access the code if we are sent to a call there.

Also, many times we can slip in when a resident opens the gate to go in or out and avoid the code altogether.

Rob

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