Review all things forcible entry with these articles from our FireRescue Magazine and FirefighterNation contributors. Today we look at squaring the Halligan bar with Paul DeBartolomeo.
Day 2: Halligan Squaring
“In last month’s issue, I wrote about tool alterations and modifications that can be made prior to placing the tools in service. In the second part of this series of articles, I am going to discuss circumstances that can challenge firefighters during forcible entry and the modifications that can be made to a halligan to assist us when confronted with these types of situations.
Forcible Entry Challenges
When firefighters are confronted with limited visibility or a restricted workspace, conventional forcible entry can become very difficult. One example would be forcing a door on the floor above the fire. Because of the smoke condition, visibility on the floor above will be limited, and coordinating forcible entry will be extremely challenging.
Another example would be forcing a door in a restricted workspace. These restrictions usually come in the form of extended door framework (photo 1), a wall (photo 2), or a building’s aesthetics and design (photo 3). Whatever the restriction may be, the effects they have on the striking member’s backswing are prohibitive to successful forcible entry.
If the striking member cannot generate enough power to drive the tool into place, the door will not be forced (photo 4). To overcome this problem, we can modify the halligan to create a secondary striking surface designed specifically for the aforementioned situations.”
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