Fire Service Hand Tools and Their Use

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Fire Service Hand Tools and Their Use
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Cutting Tools
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Pick Head Axe

• 6 pound and 8 pound varieties
• Primarily a cutting tool
• Proper use takes lots of practice
• Pick can be used to start a hole
• 8 pound version is much more efficient

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Pick Head Axe

• Special Uses
• Remove moldings, baseboard and trim during
  overhaul
• Break glass
• Search
• Limitations
• Limited use tool
• Primary function is to cut
• 6 pound version is too light and inefficient
• Cannot be used as a striking tool

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Bolt Cutters

• Used to cut chain, padlocks, shackles, and
  fencing
• Long handled versions provide better leverage
• Not suitable on case hardened or high security
  locks

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Cutting/Striking Tools
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Flat Head Axe

• 6 pound and 8 pound models
• 8 pound version is much more efficient
• Ability to strike another tool or an object is
  advantageous

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Flat Head Axe

• Special Uses
• Used to drive halligan or similar tool to force
  entry
• One half of the irons, the most widely used set
  of tools in the fire service
• Can be used to breach walls
• Opening floors and walls for overhaul
• Limitations
• Primary function is to cut, striking is secondary
• 6 pound version is not effective to cut or strike

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Prying Tools

• Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum strong
  enough, and single-handedly I can move the
  world.
• -Archimedes

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Pry Bar

• Range in size from 3 feet to 5 ½ feet
• Can have a pinch bar or a wedge-point bar
• Pinch bar (top) has a sloping chisel like bevel
• Wedge point (bottom) has a bevel on both sides
• Used mostly for moving heavy objects during
  collapse rescue, heavy rescue, or industrial
  situations

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Pry Bar

• Special Uses
• Securing master stream devices when deployed for
  ground use
• Securing ground ladders to windows. Place bar
  inside window and tie back to ladder rung.
• Repacking large diameter hose
• Limitations
• Limited use
• Best used in pairs
• Heavy, long in length

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Claw Tool

• Conventional forcible entry uses
• Hook can be used to break padlocks
• Steel lug is used as striking surface

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Claw Tool

• Special Uses
• Can be used as a mill tool to open heavy timber
  flooring or roofs
• Limitations
• Long, heavy, and sharp on both ends
• Striking surface is small and limited
• Not as efficient as a halligan bar

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Detroit Door Opener

• Lever system capable of delivering tremendous
  force
• Replaced by hydraulic tools and pry bars

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Detroit Door Opener

• Limitations
• Heavy, clumsy, and hard to carry
• May not work against high security locks
• Wont work well on steel doors in steel frames
• Requires a lot of practice to master
• Using it in dark or smoke-filled areas is
  dangerous
• Difficult to maintain control of door

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Mill Tool

• Used to pry up heavy timber floors in mill
  buildings
• Can also be used to break padlocks, but has no
  striking surface
• Extremely limited use

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Mill Tools

• Size comparison for claw tool, mill tool, and
  standard halligan bar

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Utility Bar

• Standard forcible entry uses
• Not as efficient as a halligan bar
• Difficult to use in door jamb due to thickness of
  adze

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Kelly Tool

• Conventional forcible entry uses
• More efficient than a pry bar or claw tool
• Largely replaced by the halligan bar, which has a
  similar but superior design

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Halligan Bar

• Developed by Deputy Chief Hugh Halligan of FDNY
  in the 1940s
• Mainstay forcible entry tool, the other half of
  the irons
• Range in length from 20-42 inches, with 30 inches
  being the best for daily use
• Has a fork end, an adze, and a pick

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Halligan Bar

• Special uses
• Adze end can cut bolt heads
• Pick end can break padlocks, lift manhole covers
• Fork end can cut metal, break padlocks
• Self-defense
• Self-rescue
• Limitations
• There are few, if any, limitations to a true
  halligan bar

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Striking Tools
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Sledgehammer

• Can be used to drive another tool
• Breaching masonry
• Breaking down doors
• Limited use tool

• 8, 10, 12, 16 pound varieties
• Handle length varies

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Poles and Hooks
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National Pike Pole NY Pike Pole
Standard pike poles

• Used to open ceilings and walls during overhaul
• Breaking glass for horizontal ventilation
• Pushing down ceilings during vertical ventilation
• Hook will not grab large amounts of material and
  must be driven in deeply to grab material

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San Francisco Pike Pole

• Chisel point can remove trim, baseboards,
  moldings, etc.
• Broad pulling hook and serrated teeth are
  effective on sheetrock
• Can be effective on thermal pane glass
• Needs to be sharpened regularly

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Multipurpose Hook

• Another Hugh Halligan creation
• Extremely versatile
• Opening ceilings and walls
• Pulling debris
• Opening trim, baseboards, etc.
• Sharpened points can be used for cutting
• Top hook can pry

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Roofmans Hook

• Similar to a multipurpose hook, but has a steel
  shaft increasing its ability to pry
• Has a pry end that can be useful in opening roof
  scuttles, skylights, bulkhead doors, light locks
  and hasps, and baseboards and trim
• Limited in length to 6 feet
• Extremely versatile tool

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Drywall Hook

• Makes short work of drywall
• Cutting edge can be used to cut off larges
  sections
• Broad pulling surface allows large amounts of
  material to be pulled down
• Can be used to rake debris during overhaul

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Ekert Hook (EK Hook)

• Designed to cut open metal ductwork, tin
  ceilings, and sheet metal
• Cutting edge is very sharp
• Limited use tool
• Not useful for overhaul

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Boston Rake

• Designed to pull plaster and lath
• Can open baseboards, trim, break thermal pane
  glass
• Can also open tin ceilings
• Doesnt work well in sheetrock
• Limited ability to grab materials

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L.A. Trash Hook (Arson-Trash Hook)

• Used to rake trash and debris
• Sharp tines will break glass
• Can open large areas of walls and ceilings during
  overhaul
• Good for fire investigation
• Excellent for roof work
• Good multipurpose tool, often overlooked

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Gator-Back Hook

• Can be used to pull like a standard hook, or cut
  using the serrated teeth
• Limited usefulness
• Teeth often snag on materials
• Has the same limitations as a national hook
• Overall, not a good tool

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Universal Hook

• Early version of the drywall hook
• Looks similar, but pulling surface is much
  smaller, usually 1 inch in width
• Not as effective as a standard drywall hook

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Chimney Hook

• Used to clean out chimneys during chimney fires
• Limited use tool
• Difficult to work with when compared to chains,
  chimney weights, etc.

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Double-headed Poles

• Poles with heads on both ends may look neat, but
  they are dangerous to carry and use
• Stick with a tool that has a head at one end and
  a knob, gas shutoff, or D-handle

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Closet Hook

• Characterized by short handle, 2 ½ - 4 feet
• Can have any of the heads previously described
• Serve little function on the fireground
• Require you to work with your arms over your head
  to pull ceilings, extremely tiresome
• A six foot hook can get into any place you can
• Stay away from this tool

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Handles on Hooks

• Ram Knob/Gas Shut-Off

• D-Handle

• Pry End

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Personal Tools
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Personal Tools

• Downsized versions of standard tools
• Multipurpose design
• For use by officers or crews stretching hand
  lines
• Many varieties

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Several-In-One Tools
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TNT Tool (Denver Tool)

• Four tools in one sledge, axe, pike pole, and
  pry bar
• Used to vent, pull ceilings, force entry, and
  overhaul
• Varying lengths and weights
• Sharp at both ends
• Too short for hook work
• Ineffective for prying

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Pry Axe

• Multipurpose forcible entry and search tool
• Cutting, prying, utility shut-off, forcible
  entry, glass removal
• Expandable handle
• Limited leverage and cutting capabilities

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Hux Bar

• A modified hydrant wrench
• Very limited fireground usefulness
• Not strong enough to pry solid objects
• Can bend when opening tough hydrants
• Stay away from this tool, it will not help you

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Special-Purpose Tools
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Bam-Bam Tool

• Similar to an automotive dent puller
• Used to pull lock cylinders
• Can be used to open older car doors and trunks
• Limited use tool, and many locks are strong
  enough to defeat it
• Requires a lot of practice to be proficient

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Hockey Puck Lock Breaker

• Used to break high security padlocks
• 36 or 48 pipe wrench
• Limited use
• Could be used as an emergency hydrant wrench

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A Tool

• Not a separate tool, part of a personal tool or
  halligan, etc.
• A shape cut out of adze
• For pulling lock cylinders, similar to K-tool
  operation

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J Tool

• For opening doors equipped with panic hardware
• Can be purchased or manufactured
• No other known uses

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K-Tool Key Tools

• Designed to pull lock cylinders for
  through-the-lock forcible entry
• Very limited use tool, many locks will not fit
  into it
• Efficient use requires practice

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Duck Billed Lock Breaker

• Used to break common padlocks
• Very limited use
• Can be used to break windows covered with wire
  mesh
• Tools uses can be accomplished with a halligan

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Hydraulic Door Opener (Rabbit Tool)

• Extremely versatile forcible entry tool
• Uses hydraulic force to spread door apart and
  break lock/jam
• One and two firefighter versions
• Very useful in hotels, apartment buildings,
  multi-families with numerous units and doors.
• Can also open elevators
• Only works on inward swing doors

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Roof Cutter

• Can opener on a handle
• Used to cut sheet metal and tin
• Requires practice
• Not very efficient
• Stay away from this tool

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Shove Knives

• Used to manipulate standard door latches and
  key-in-knob locks
• Can be purchased or manufactured
• Credit cards and hotel cards are also effective

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Vice Grips and Chain/Cable

• Maintains control of door during conventional
  forcible entry
• Cutting padlocks with power saws- keeps lock
  under control and improves safety

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Battering Ram

• The original forcible entry tool, dates back to
  biblical times
• Used to batter down doors
• Can be used to breach walls
• Takes practice and teamwork
• Modern hydraulic tools have made this tool almost
  obsolete

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Elevator Keys

• Used to open elevator doors without causing
  damage
• Many different styles of lock
• Communities may only use one key

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Tool Combinations
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The Irons

• Flathead axe married with a halligan bar
• Preferably an 8 pound axe and a 30 halligan
• The mainstay of every engine and ladder company
• All forms of forcible entry, breaching walls,
  ventilation, overhaul, search, utility control,
  salvage, and forcible exit
• Nearly all firefighting operations can be
  completed with a set of irons

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Lock-Breaking Combinations

• Lock breaking tools described previously should
  be stored with a companion striking tool
• Duck-billed lock breaker and 8 pound sledgehammer
• Claw tool and sledgehammer
• Remember that the irons may already be in use
  elsewhere due to their versatility

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Roof Work

• Roof work may include ventilation, checking the
  building and exposures for extension, and
  searching from the top down
• A variety of tools will be needed
• Tools to bring to the roof include
• A cutting tool (axe, maul)
• A 12 ft push/pull tool (pike pole, multipurpose
  hook, trash hook)
• A prying tool (halligan, claw tool)

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References

• Tools of the Trade, by Richard A. Fritz,
  published by Fire Engineering
• Fire Officers Handbook of Tactics, by John
  Norman, published by Fire Engineering
• Essentials of Fire Fighting, 4th Edition,
  published by Fire Protection Publications