Assembly and method for securing a door opening or other opening of a building structure

An assembly for securely enclosing an opening defined by a building structure having an inside and an outside, the assembly comprising:

• a frame sized to be disposed to substantially surround the opening and engage the structure;
• a panel pivotally securable to the frame and sized to substantially cover the opening, the panel having a front and a back;
• and
• locking means for selectively locking the panel to the frame in a closed position and unlocking the panel so that it can be pivoted to an open position, the locking means comprising selectively only one of an internal locking means manually operable only from the inside of the building and an external locking means manually operable from the outside of the building;
• the internal locking means having a first handle assembly configured to be secured to the back of the panel, the first handle assembly comprising a first handle and a first latch bolt, and, when the internal locking means is selected, the first handle assembly is configured to selectively engage and disengage the first latch bolt and the frame for selectively locking and unlocking the panel;
• the external locking means comprising a second handle assembly including a second handle and a second latch bolt operatively connectable to the second handle of the external locking means, and, when the external locking means is selected, the second handle of the external locking means is configured to selectively engage and disengage the second latch bolt of the external locking means and the frame for selectively locking and unlocking the panel;
• wherein the panel includes a pair of spaced brackets secured to the back of the panel and the external locking means further includes a third latch bolt, the second and third latch bolts of the external locking means each configured to engage a respective bracket and to selectively engage or disengage the frame during engagement or disengagement of the respective second and third latch bolt of the external locking means and the frame;
• and
• wherein the external locking means further includes a cable assembly operatively associated with the second handle to selectively engage or disengage the respective second latch bolt of the external locking means to facilitate engagement and disengagement of the respective first or third latch bolt of the external locking means and the frame.