Conventional Forcible Entry Training Drill from SEARCH & DESTROY FIRE TRAINING

SEARCH & DESTROY FIRE TRAINING

FORCIBLE ENTRY DRILL-OF-THE-DAY

SEARCH & DESTROY FIRE TRAINING 5150 HAMPSHIRE DRIVE SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN 48316 (586) 231-1478

S&D is honored to have been asked by Christopher Huston to write a forcible entry drill-of-the-day for FIRE TRAINING TOOLBOX. I first saw saw this done by the guys at REFINED BY FIRE TRAINING, and I immediately fell in love with it….because it’s something that any fire department can do right in the station with next to no equipment and without having to procure funds for materials or build heavy and expensive props.

Of course it is limited in scope, but it will teach new firefighters the basics of conventional forcible entry, and help sink home the lessons of the Gap-Set-Force method for even grizzled veterans.

All that is required is:

1. Door hung in a metal frame (although using a wood frame offers its own lessons as well) 2. Roll of duct tape 3. One or two bungee cords 4. Halligan bar 5. Rubber mallet 6. Door wedge 7. Imagination

1 – SET-UP

The first thing you’ll need to do is find a suitable door in your fire station with enough room around it to operate. It’s helpful to use a door that has already seen a little wear and tear, so that if it is accidentally scratched or nicked, the chief or station captain doesn’t have an MI.

If you’re concerned about scratches, you can always cover the halligan fork and adz with duct tape.

To prep the door, push the latch mechanism into the door, and cover the door-edge with one or two short pieces of duct tape. This will allow the door to move freely around the tool.

2 – SET-UP

Next, attach one side of the bungee-cord to the door-handle (when looking at the door as if it were an inward-swinging door) and the other side of the bungee-cord to a fixed object or very heavy object.

This may require a little imagination on your part in finding something to connect the bungee-cord to. But you should be able to find some suitable object, even if you have to move something heavy next to the door or extend your bungee with rope or webbing and tie that to a fixed object some distance away from the door.

3 – PRELIMINARIES

Tailor your training to the experience-level of your participants. Keep it simple for less experienced personnel. If necessary, break these up into separate training sessions. For instance, covering outward-swinging doors one day, and inward-swinging doors another day. Another idea is to use a right-side opening door for one session, and repeating the same training on a left-side opening for another session. A bonus of this training concept is that it’s very quickly and easily set-up and broken down.

At each evolution, explain and/or demonstrate the method….then walk each participant through the method….then have them demonstrate it back to you without your prompting.

4 – PRELIMINARIES

Before you get started, you may want to cover some or all of the following topics:

• Try before you pry! • Checking the door for heat on fire calls. • What situations conventional forcible entry is warranted in in your local running orders. • Shocking the door. • The Gap-Set-Force method. • Differences between wood-stop jambs and metal rabbeted jambs. • Good communication between the halligan-firefighter and axe-firefighter. • Go over commands of “Hit”, “Stop”, “Drive”, and “Wedge”. • Nomenclature of the halligan: pick/pike, adz/wedge, fork, bevel-side of fork. • Different amounts of leverage and a spread offered by the different ends of the halligan. • Use of the adz/pike on both left-side and right-side opening doors. • What type of structures are likely to have inward-swinging or outward-swinging doors. • Emphasize that “Plan A” may not work.....”Plan B” may not either! • If you use gap-lines and/or set-lines ground onto your halligan, explain their function. • Any local practices or guidelines you follow in your organization.

5 – PRELIMINARIES

COMMANDS: “HIT” -‐ Hit the halligan with the axe one /me

“DRIVE IT” -‐ Keep hi3ng un/l I tell you to stop

“STOP” -‐ No more hits for now

“WEDGE” -‐ Hold the purchase with the axe / door wedge

6 – OUTWARD SWINGING WITH FORK

7 – OUTWARD SWINGING WITH FORK

In our classes, we like to start with the simple stuff, and get progressively more complex. For that reason, we usually begin with forcing an outward-swinging door using the fork-end of the halligan. It’s a very intuitive evolution, and is easily understood.

Explain the reason for shocking an outward-swinging door (to batter the door, and possibly increase the gap between door and frame).

Explain and demonstrate the GAP–SET–FORCE technique.

Explain and demonstrate proper communication and commands between the halligan-FF and the axe-FF. Use the rubber mallet to strike the halligan in place of a flat-head axe.

Explain that the fork method will provide a 5:1 mechanical advantage and a maximum spread of about an inch.

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Inside View

8 – WEDGING THE DOOR

Explain the use of a door-wedge or the blade of the axe to hold the purchase while the halligan is removed and another side of the halligan is used.

In our classes, the halligan-firefighter uses the command, “WEDGE”, to signal to the axe-firefighter to wedge the door with the axe.

9 – OUTWARD SWINGING WITH ADZ


Explain gapping with the adz, and how the adz can be easily used to crush a door over from the frame in order to create a wider gap for better tool-set. This method is similar to creating a purchase point for the spreader-tips on a vehicle extrication.

Explain that, while some firefighters prefer to use this method on all outward-swinging doors (rather than the fork-side), where this method becomes essential is when the door is next to a wall or at the end of a hallway where the configuration of the building does not allow for full range-of-motion when attempting to use the fork-method.

Explain and demonstrate properly setting the adz past the door-stop.

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Explain the differences in mechanical advantage (leverage) and spread offered by moving the tool in different directions when prying with the adz.

When prying vertically (up or down, depending on the door configuration), you are using a lever that offers a 15:1 mechanical advantage, and that has a maximum spread of about 2 inches. A 30 inch-long bar divided by a 2 inch-wide adz is a 15:1 mechanical advantage.

When prying horizontally (side-to-side), you are using a lever that offers a 5:1 mechanical advantage, and that has a maximum spread of about 6 inches. A 30 inch-long bar divided by a 6 inch-long adz is a 5:1 mechanical advantage.

VERTICAL HORIZONTAL


Explain the difference in technique in rolling the adz on a left-side opening door versus a right-side opening door. Because of the configuration of the halligan, it is necessary to roll in the direction opposite the pike to obtain maximum leverage.

On a left-side opening door this is quite easy, because gravity can be your friend.

On a right-side opening door it’s necessary to roll up. The best way to do this is to get your shoulder beneath the tool and use your legs to push upward.

LeE-‐side opening door Right-‐side opening door

13 – OUTWARD SWINGING WITH PIKE

Explain and/or demonstrate the difference between using the pike of the tool on a left-side opening door versus a right-side opening door. This method will offer a 5:1 mechanical advantage approximately, and a maximum possible spread of 6 inches.


14 – INWARD SWINGING WITH FORK

15 – INWARD SWINGING WITH FORK

Explain the reason for shocking an inward-swinging door (to batter the door, and possibly determine which of the locks are locked).

Explain that gapping an inward-swinging door is often difficult because the seam between door and frame is covered by the door-stop.

Demonstrate the process of bringing the fork in at a diagonal angle, with the bevel toward the door.

Demonstrate flattening the angle of the bar once a gap has been established so that the fork-tips can travel past the door stop and through the seam between the door and frame.

Allow participants to see the interior-view, and emphasize that the fork-tips should be locked on to the frame before attempting to force the door.

Explain that the fork method will provide approximately 5:1 mechanical advantage, and a maximum spread of about an inch.

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16 – WEDGING THE DOOR

Explain the use of a door-wedge or the blade of the axe to hold the purchase while the halligan is removed and another side of the halligan is used. In our classes, the halligan-firefighter uses the command, “WEDGE”, to signal to the axe-firefighter to wedge the door with the axe.

17 – INWARD SWINGING WITH ADZ

Explain and demonstrate gapping the door between door and door-stop.

Explain and demonstrate prying vertically with the adz to maximize leverage.

Explain and demonstrate wedging the door with a door-wedge or axe.

Explain and demonstrate setting the tool by locking the adz onto the interior frame of the door.

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Explain and/or demonstrate the difference in moving the halligan up or down in prying with the adz on a left-side and right-side opening door. Rolling the tool in the direction opposite the pick is preferred to maximize leverage.



Explain and demonstrate the use of the adz to pry horizontally to “clear the door”. This motion is often used when spread is a priority over leverage.

This method will provide a mechanical advantage of 5:1, and a spread of about 6 inches.

To the left, the adz is pictured prying against the door-stop. This is often used as a method of initially gapping the door, but may not be suitable on all doors for fully forcing the door.

To the right, the adz is pictured locked onto the inside of the frame. This is a more secure fulcrum point with which to pry against.

20 – INWARD SWINGING WITH PIKE

Explain and demonstrate the use of the pike to pry vertically to “clear the door”. This motion is often used when spread is a priority over leverage.

This method will provide a mechanical advantage of 5:1, and a spread of about 6 inches.

To the left, the pike is pictured beginning the gap by prying against the door-stop. This can be used as a method of initially gapping the door, but may not be suitable on all doors for fully forcing the door. Once enough spread has been created between door and frame, wedge the purchase with the axe or door-wedge and insert the pike behind the inside-portion of the frame.

To the right, the pike is pictured locked onto the inside of the frame. This is a more secure fulcrum point with which to pry against. The pike method is more often used on right-side opening doors because gravity and body weight can be employed to the firefighter’s advantage.

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LeE-‐side opening door

Right-‐side opening door

21 – INWARD SWINGING WITH HYDRA-RAM

If your department carries a Hydra-Ram, Rabbit Tool, or other similar hydraulic or mechanical prying device, its use can be simulated with your bungee-cord training door.

Emphasize that this tool is designed primarily to force inward-swinging doors set in a metal jamb.

22 - HAVE FUN!

Thanks for reading! We hope you and your crew has a good time training. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.

And thanks to Christopher Huston and the guys at FIRE TRAINING TOOLBOX.

YOUR PASSPORT TO GOOD TIMES.

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SEARCH & DESTROY FIRE TRAINING, LLC SEAN J. WILSON & SCOTT A. GARDNER, LEAD INSTRUCTORS

5150 HAMPSHIRE DRIVE / SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN 48316 586-231-1478

[email protected] WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SEARCHANDDESTROYFIRETRAINING

Conventional Forcible Entry Training Drill from SEARCH & DESTROY FIRE TRAINING

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