- A couple tips & thoughts on forcing padlocks with the Halligan or Duckbill… Stay tuned for more tips on other… http://bit.ly/cpZzRu #
- Check-out some great photos from this past weekend's Forcible Entry Academy! There are some great tips on various… http://bit.ly/95RjzF #
- New post from Joe Brown on making the most of your "routine" runs so that you're COMBAT READY for the real… http://bit.ly/94Y3E4 #
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With the ever changing dynamics of the fire service, firefighter’s daily functions are as vast and wide ranging as the great country in which their respective departments lie. With such duties ranging from emergency medical care and patient assists to leaking ceilings and faulty electrical outlets, firefighter’s have become the nations “jack-of-all-trades”. As responsibilities increase and time for focused fire related training shrinks, it is as important as ever to use your time wisely. With a little imagination, we can turn even the most benign public service call into a learning situation…
A routine run here may lead to questions such as: what length attack line? How would we place ladders to the porch? Apparatus Positions? Basement access? Utility cut-offs?
Making the most out of each response often involves little more than opening up your eyes to your surroundings. Calls that gain firefighter’s access to homes and buildings are an excellent opportunity to check out construction features and hazards that may come in handy should a fire occur. Often, homes within the same residential neighborhoods will have very similar layouts and construction types. A home you ran for a public service call last tour could be very similar to the working fire you’re now faced with 2 doors down.
Here are just a few considerations to look for that may help should a fire occur:
- Do these homes have a basement?
- What kind of entrance does it have?
- Where are the interior stairs located?
- Does the front door open in to block the interior stairs?
- Where are the bedrooms located? Do they have windows and how many?
- Does the pipe chase connect to the exposure home or apartment?
- How does the layout of this home compare to its attached neighbor?
- Where are the utility controls located?
- Is the occupant you are currently helping able to escape a possible fire on their own?
The above list is just a small fraction of the many things firefighters should be constantly vigilant for in an effort to prepare for that next job. Involve all members of the company through simple interactions such as “do you know why the pipe chase is located here?” or “how many windows have we passed since we came in?”. Before long members will be asking questions of their own!
Your size-up at non-fire incidents may provide indispensable knowledge at the fire later on...
The window in the picture to the right was located during a run for DCFD Truck 17 to assist a citizen back into bed. The occupant had covered the window with carpet and left a small opening at its base, which was lined with nails to discourage break-ins. This poses an obvious safety issue for the outside vent man as well as criminals. High crime areas often require low income residents to fashion a wide variety of makeshift safety features for their home. These “adaptations” can vary widely from home to home, let alone jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but are not limited to high crime areas.
The senior man right down to the newest probationer has a responsibility to himself as well as their crew to observe and question the area around them. Be prepared on every run to ask the “What if it was on fire?” question and make the most out of your time out in the field. With a little practice you and your crew can perfect “The Art of Seeing”.
This past Saturday, January 20, Traditions Training staff traveled back to Philadelphia for a “Forcible Entry Academy” program with the Fort Washington Fire Company. This 8-hour program was entirely hands on and allowed students to practice numerous forcible entry skills through out the day.
Students cut actual roll-down gates. For added realism we even "tagged" them.
Some of the skills included were:
- 1 and 2 firefighter techniques for conventional FE.
- Roll-down security gates.
- HUD Windows.
- Window bars & gates.
- Thru-the-lock techniques.
- High-security padlocks.
- Size-up and tool selection.
A primary focus of the day was the capabilities of various hand tools and the importance of having multiple techniques and plans for attack. With forcible entry you cannot always rely on “plan A” – when it doesn’t work out the way you hoped, your next move better be on deck!
Using a variety of real-world props, each student got the chance to put their hands on the tools and transfer their “theory” on how they might attack and obstacle into actual “experience” with a variety of new skills and techniques. Each student was encouraged not only to try “our” ideas, but to take the opportunity to try new ideas and techniques – training is the time to experiment with these things, not the front door of the fire building.
It was another excellent day for instructors and students, as both walked away with some new experiences and skills. Thanks to DFC Clauson of the Ft. Washington Fire Company for setting up another excellent training opportunity!
Click here for some more photos!
To learn more about how you can host or attend this or other Traditions Training classes – click here to contact us!
Pad locks can be found locking us out of a lot of things: gates, doors, etc. There are a variety of shapes, styles, and types and also various means of attacking these locks. In this post I wanted to cover just one of many available methods -- driving the body off of the shackle.
Halligan Pick / Duckbill Method:
Essentially you are performing a “spreading” motion using what is basically a wedge. This motion needs to spread the shackle VERTICALLY. I have seen firefighters place a duckbill lock-breaker with the width of the wedge perpendicular to the shackle. This will be ineffective -- it must be placed parallel. The idea here is to drive the body of the lock off of the shackle -- NOT to spread the two arms of the shackle apart.
For this method to be successful, the top of the wedge must hit the top of the shackle and the bottom of the wedge must hit the top of the lock body. In the photo to the right, the pick of the Halligan is being used. You can see that the pick is buried up to it’s widest point and is still not exerting vertical spreading force. In fact, at this point the Halligan was beginning to spread side-to-side, which was not forcing the lock -- continuing to drive it just was getting the tool stuck in the shackle. It’s not that this method doesn’t work -- it’s just that it won’t work on this padlock because the shackle is too long. If the shackle was shorter, the method would have a good chance of success.
This is a quick way for a firefighter to size-up if the pick of the Halligan will be successful before committing to the operation. Simply place the pick into the shackle and look before driving it into place with your striking tool. Does it appear that the shackle is short enough that the pick will wedge/spread the top of the hasp and the top of the body? If yes, proceed. If no, move on to another method…
In this scenario the pick of the Halligan was being used. A “Duckbill Lockbreaker”, if available, might have been a better choice. The duckbill is designed specifically for this technique and it’s wider wedge will fit padlocks with longer hasps, like this one.
The video below shows the duckbill in use and properly positioned -- but why isn’t it working? This lock / chain held a sliding gate closed. The gate was not touching the ground. As such, most of the force didn’t go to breaking the lock each “hit” delivered just caused the gate to bounce. When using the duckbill, or similar methods, we must make sure that our force is being delivered to a stable surface -- so that the force makes it to the lock.
Stay tuned for some tips next time on cutting pad-locks…
- Putting together a blog post on lock-picks for thru-the-lock forcible entry… Want your stuff included? Send me… http://bit.ly/b4COBP #
- Some photos and videos from January's Truck Company Operations classes. Also photos and account of how these… http://bit.ly/cSosiO #
- Some photos and videos from January's Truck Company Operations classes. Also photos and account of how these… http://bit.ly/99G3e9 #
- Some interesting thoughts on methods for forcing Lexan / polycarbonate windows. Out of the DC COG Railroad… http://bit.ly/dhNfPD #
- Off to Fort Washington, PA for a Forcible Entry Academy program tomorrow… Check back – should have some pics of a… http://bit.ly/9qrPzj #
- Some pics from this morning at the Forcible Entry Academy… Sean Sinon works with the guys on some 1 FF inward… http://bit.ly/9PAk92 #
- Mike Stothers shows the guys through-the-lock techniques on various styles of locks. http://bit.ly/cZZFlD #
- Chris Birch discussing tool selection and modifications… http://bit.ly/aNARO3 #
Traditions Training traveled to southeast PA twice in January, each time for ”Truck Company Operations” class. The first program was held in Kennett Square with the Longwood Fire Company. Two weekends later we returned to West Chester, PA for another program with the Parkesburg Fire Company and some surrounding departments… Little did we know that one department would use some of these skills just hours later.
Thanks to members of each department for these photos from the classes:
On Sunday evening after the class, members of the Honey Brook Fire Company responded to a fire in a motel. Deputy Chief Dan Brooks sent us the following account:
“Sunday night while recovering from the weekends class we were hit out for full company assist on the working Motel Fire. Members who attended the training, working with those who didnt, forced 10+ doors on rooms and provided ventilation and primary searches of the entire building mostly under poor to zero visibity. Using the skills we learned and reinforced, things went VERY well. THANK YOU!!!”
Nothing could make the staff at Traditions Training happier than to know that we might have provided even the smallest tip that helped someone do their job at the fire. Thanks to the members of Longwood, Parkesburg, Honey Brook, and the other department’s that attended January’s classes!
Fore more information on our Truck Company Operations, or other, programs – please contact us! Also, be sure to check out our past blog posts on Truck Company Operations.
- Need your help – check out this post on "The Knockdown Power of Smaller Lines". In the comments, let us know your… http://bit.ly/daPR57 #
- A Traditions Training Valentines treat! A post about accountability and the differences between "hardware" and… http://bit.ly/asl4NW #
Accountability hardware systems: TAGS, RINGS, CLIPS, VESTS, BOARDS, VELCRO, PAPER LISTS, MAGNETS, COMPUTER CHIPS… they come in all shapes and sizes, limited usually only by your budget. Your department can use a pre-made “canned one”…off the fire-salesman’s shelf, copy and adapt one that works for department nearby or dream up your own….but in reality….
The “HARDWARE” part of an accountability system is rather immaterial. (more…)
- Getting things together after a great weekend of Truck Ops with the guys from Parkesburg, PA…
Quick thought: … http://bit.ly/b2tKCY #
- Anyone notice any similarities to some "forcible entry" operations you've seen on the fireground? Funny but:
- Another great suburban engine company setup in response to our "Engine Company Versatility" blog post, this one… http://bit.ly/9wVB5i #
- New video with tips for striking the Halligan during forcible entry operations. Check it out and let us know your… http://bit.ly/bA7KxD #
- Quick actions and a "Combat Ready" approach saves 3 children in DC – excellent work by members of Rescue 3 and 3rd… http://bit.ly/9J7cae #
- Quick actions and a "Combat Ready" approach saves 3 children in DC – excellent work by members of Rescue 3 and 3rd… http://bit.ly/celwtY #
- A video tip and some thoughts for operating in difficult weather… How has the blizzard been treating you? Share… http://bit.ly/chM86M #
We must plan for how adverse weather effects our firefighting operations BEFORE the fire.
Riding the “hook” position at work yesterday, my duties were primarily that of the OVM (outside vent-man). At a fire -- get ladders up, ventilate horizontally, perhaps VES the upper floor, then head in to search and open-up. Being that we got 19″ of snow in DC yesterday, the idea of anything involving carrying ladders sounded terrible.
If you’re anywhere in the mid-atlantic, you’re likely in the same predicament today. Even now that the snow’s stopped, moving ladders through the deep snow that will remain for weeks will be difficult -- not everyone shovels like they should and the sides and rears of buildings will likely be untouched. Many streets may be impassable for apparatus and all our equipment will have to be lugged to the fire building… It’s easy to slip and fall in these conditions, which is usually harmless unless you have a 24′ ladder on your shoulder when you slip. In this situation we should remember two things:
1) Get ladders off the rig closest to your objective. While I usually take “my” ladders from my own rig, yesterday it was coming off the closest thing I could find to the fire building -- engine company, truck company, whatever… No sense in lugging anything further than necessary.
2) Use a ladder drag! As shown in the video, by simply grabbing the TIP end we can easily drag the ladder to our objective. It’s less work for us and less treacherous in the snow. Further, we can quickly throw a roof ladder (hooks out to snag the extension ladder) and maybe a couple tools (even a saw?) on the ladder and easily drag it to our objective. Even better if your partner throws his stuff on the ladder and helps you drag it. Particularly useful for getting a bunch of equipment down a snowy block without killing ourselves doing it.
Another snow tip? Throw a couple $0.99 hand/toe warmers in the inside pocket of your turnout coat. You never know when a BS run will become an extended incident, and all things are possible with warm hands and feet!
How are things going for you? Share your winter experiences and thoughts below…
The Halligan and Axe firefighters must both have strong technique and work together for a fast operation!
A couple weeks ago, TT Instructors Nick Martin, Danny Doyle, and Mike Stothers travelled to Kennett Square, PA for another class with the Longwood Fire Company -- this one focusing on truck company operations. The emphasis of the program was on “two-team” truck company operations, covering both inside and outside tasks simultaneously with small crews.
One of the skills covered was conventional forcible entry for inward and outward opening doors. We talked about having multiple plans and techniques for both a team of 2 and for the lone firefighter. Proper striking technique is just as essential to a quick and effective forcible entry operation as working the Halligan. Check out this video with tips for the striking (axe) firefighter:
There are striking tools other than the axe -- which do you prefer to use, and WHY?? Let us know in the comments…
To learn more about our “Truck Company Operations” or other programs, please contact us or e-mail info@traditionstraining.com.
The Knockdown Power of Smaller Lines
View CommentsAs I mentioned in last week’s post on Engine Company Verstatility – I’m all for having variety and options on the rig. As such, these newer lines may all have their place next to the old favorites. However let’s not forget the power of a properly used 1.75″ handline….