Chapter 9: Forcible Entry Flashcards
- Forcible entry
refers to the techniques used to gain access into a compartment, structure, facility, or site when the normal means of entry is locked or blocked
Forcible entry techniques
do minimal damage to the structure or structural components and provide quick access to the emergency
The Incident Commander (IC) or your supervisor will determine where to force entry based upon the following factors:
o Tactics that must be fulfilled
o Location of the fire or hazard
o Stage of the fire
o Effect on ventilation
o Effort required to force entry
Forcible entry tools can be divided into four basic categories:
o Cutting tools
o Pushing/pulling tools
o Prying tools
o Striking tools
- Axes
are the most common types of cutting tools used by firefighters
- Smaller axes and hatchets may be used in salvage and overhaul operations, but they are usually too lightweight and inefficient for effective use in forcible entry operations
Cutting Tools
- Cutting tools can be powered manually or with another power source
- The two basic types of axes are
the pick-head axe and the flat-head axe
Pick-head axes
axe is a versatile forcible entry tool that can be used for cutting, prying, and digging
o 6-pound or an 8-pound head
The pick-head axe is very effective for chopping through:
o Wooden structural components
o Shingles
o Aluminum siding
o Other roof coverings
o Other natural and lightweight materials
The flat-head axe
is the same as the pick-head axe in size, design, and construction, except that a flat striking face replaces the pick end
Metal cutting devices
are used to cut through heavy-duty locks, metal-clad doors, window security bars and grilles, and similar items
types of metal cutting devices
o Bolt cutters
o Cutting torches
o Manual or powered rebar cutters
- Bolt Cutters. Bolt cutters are used to cut:
o Bolts
o Iron bars
o Pins
o Cables
o Chains
o Hasps
o Some padlock shackles
- Do not use bolt cutters to cut
case-hardened materials found in locks and other security devices
to cut any energized cables unless the cutters are insulated and designed for that task
- A cutting torch may be used to cut:
o Security bars
o Gates
o Grilles
o Hinges
o Rebar
- Firefighters commonly use what type of cutting torches
o Oxyacetylene cutting torches
o Oxy-gasoline cutting torches
o Burning bars
o Plasma cutters
what something that must be done when cutting with a cutting torch
- A charged hoseline must be in place during the cutting operation to cool the metal and control any sparks that are generated
- Rebar cutters
hydraulic cutting tools
o are available in both powered and manual versions
o Firefighters can use rebar cutters to cut steel reinforced bars (rebar) in concrete walls or to cut door or window security bars
Handsaws
o Hacksaw
o Drywall saw
o Keyhole saw
- Power saws commonly used in the fire service include
o Circular saw
o Rotary saw
o Reciprocating saw
o Chain saw
Circular saw
This saw is especially useful in situations where electrical power is readily available, and heavier and bulkier power saws are too difficult to handle
- Rotary saws
used in the fire service are usually gasoline powered with changeable blades available for cutting wood, metal, and masonry.
o When using a rotary saw to cut metal, have a charged hoseline or portable fire extinguisher nearby because of the sparks produced in the cutting operation
The reciprocating saw
This saw has a short straight blade that moves in and out with an action similar to that of a handsaw
o is very powerful, versatile, and easy to control
- Chain saws
are commonly used for forcible entry, ventilation, rescue, and overhaul operations
o They can be powered by gasoline engines, electricity, compressed ait, or hydraulic power
- Cutting chains come in a variety of types for use in cutting building materials such as:
o Wood
o Concrete
o Stone
o Brick
- Prying tools are useful for:
o Opening doors
o Opening windows
o Opening locks
o Moving heavy objects
prybar Force applied to the tool’s handle is multiplied at the working end based upon
the distance between the fulcrum and the working end
how do pryers work
- Pry bars and other manually operated prying tools use the principle of the lever and fulcrum to provide mechanical advantage
- The most common manual prying tools used in the fire service are as follows:
o Crowbar
o Halligan tool
o Pry (pinch) bar
o Hux bar
o Claw tool
o Pry axe
o Rambar
o Kelly tool
o Flat bar (nail puller)
Hydraulic prying tools
receive their power from hydraulic fluid pumped through special high-pressure hoses
o The pumping mechanism can be either powered or manual
- electric motors or two- or four-cycle gasoline engines are much more common than compressed air
Rescue tools
Hydraulic spreaders and hydraulic rams usually associated with vehicle extrication have some uses in forcible entry
o Hydraulic spreaders can exert force either to spread something apart or to pull heavy objects
Hydraulic door opener
This opener is manually operated, relatively lightweight and consists of a hand pump and spreader device
o The spreader has intermeshed teeth that can be easily slipped into a narrow opening such as between a door and doorframe
o A few pumps of the handle cause the jaws of the spreader device to open, exerting pressure on the object to be moved
Pushing and pulling tools have limited use in forcible entry
- This category of tools includes the following
o Clemens hook
o Pike pole
o Plaster hook
o Drywall hook
o San Francisco hook
o Multipurpose hook
o Roofman’s hook
o Rubbish hook
o New York Roof Hook
- A striking tool
is a very basic hand tool consisting of a weighted head attached to a handle
- The following are examples of common striking tools:
o Sledge hammer (8, 10, and 16 pounds)
o Maul
o Battering ram
o Pick
o Flat-head axe
o Mallet
o Hammer
o Punch
o Chisel
The battering ram
is used to make openings in walls and force doors
- The battering ram weighs 30 to 40 pounds (15 to 20 kg) and is made of steel with installed handles and hand guards
To prevent these injuries you must:
o Wear appropriate PPE; additional PPE may be required depending upon the incident.
o Use only undamaged tools.
o Select the right tool for the type of opening to be made.
o Use tools for their intended purpose only.
o Position yourself so that your weight is balanced on both feet.
o Ensure that you have room to operate the tool properly.
o Be aware that there will be a sudden release of energy when the door, window, or wall is opened.
o Ensure that other personnel are out of the immediate area.
o Be aware of the environment to prevent possible gas or vapor ignitions
- To prevent injury, use extreme care with rotary saws, power saws, and chain saws as follows:
o Match the saw and saw blades to the task and material to be cut.
o Never force a saw beyond its design limitations.
o Always wear full PPE, including gloves, hearing protection, and eye protection
o Fully inspect the saw before and after use.
o Do not use any power saw when working in a flammable atmosphere or near flammable liquids.
o Maintain situational awareness.
o Keep unprotected and nonessential people out of the work area.
o Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for proper saw operation.
o Keep blades and chains sharpened. A dull saw is more likely to cause an accident than a sharp one.
o Be aware of hidden hazards such as electrical wires, gas lines, and water lines.
o Remember that the rotating blade on a rotary saw continues to spin after the throttle has been released.
o Use only blades that are manufacturer approved for your saw; blades from different manufacturers may not be interchangeable.
o When making cuts, account for the twisting (gyroscopic or torsion effect) of a rotary saw blade in order to maintain control of the saw.
o Start all cuts at full revolutions per minute (rpm) to prevent the blades from binding into the material.
o Store blades in a clean, dry environment.
where to store composite blades
compartments where gasoline fumes will not accumulate because hydrocarbons can attack the bonding material in these blades causing them to deteriorate and violently shatter during use
how to carry axe
- If not in a scabbard, carry the axe with the blade away from the body
o With pick-head axes, grasp the pick with a hand to cover it
o Never carry an axe on the shoulder
how to carry prying tools
Carry these tools with any pointed or sharp edges away from the body
o This can be difficult when carrying tools with multiple cutting or prying surfaces such as a bit on one end and an adz on the other
how to carry pike poles and hooks
Carry these tools with the tool head down, close to the ground, and ahead of the body when outside a structure.
o When entering a building, carefully reposition the tool and carry it with the head upright close to the body to facilitate prompt use.
o These tools are especially dangerous because they are somewhat unwieldy and can severely injure anyone accidentally jabbed with the working end of the tool.
how to carry striking tools
Keep the heads of these tools close to the ground.
o Maintain a firm grip.
o Mauls and sledge-hammers are heavy and may slip from your grasp.
how to carry power tools
Never carry a power tool that is operating more than 10 feet (3 m); running power tools are potentially lethal weapons
o Transport the tool to the area where the work will be performed and start it there.
o Carry the saw with the blade forward and toward the ground.
o To prevent fuel from leaking, ensure that the gas cap is tight and the gasket is in place
- Care and maintenance of wooden handles includes:
o Inspecting the handle for cracks, blisters, or splinters
o Sanding the handle if necessary to eliminate splinters.
o Washing the handle with mild detergent, rinsing, and wiping dry. Do not soak the handle in water because it will cause the wood to swell.
o Applying a coat of boiled linseed oil to the handle to preserve it and prevent roughness and warping. Do not paint or varnish the handle.
o Checking the tightness of the tool head.
o Limiting the amount of surface area used for tool marking. Unit designations can be applied on strips of tape or self-adhesive barcodes on the handle.
what do you apply to wooden handles after cleaned and dried
After applying linseed oil, use detergent and water to hand wash the oil-coated rags used to clean wooden handles
- Fiberglass handles are easier to maintain than wood handles. Care includes:
o Washing the handle with mild detergent, rinsing, and wiping dry
o Checking for damage or cracks
o Checking the tightness of the tool head
- Cutting edges on axes require the following care and maintenance:
o Inspecting the cutting edge for chips, cracks, or spurs (Figure 9.19).
o Replacing axe head when required.
o Filing the cutting edges by hand; grinding weakens the tool.
o Sharpening the blade as specified in departmental SOPs
- If the blade is extremely sharp and ground too thin
- If the blade is too thick
- If the blade is extremely sharp and ground too thin, pieces of the blade may break when cutting gravel roofs or striking nails and/or screws in doors, walls, roof decking, or flooring
- If the blade is too thick, regardless of its sharpness, it is difficult to drive the axe head through ordinary objects
Unprotected metal surfaces are the blades, wedges, pikes, handles, and other tool components that have not been electroplated to protect them from corrosion. Instructions for care are as follows:
o Use an emery cloth or steel wool to remove dirt and rust (Figure 9.20).
o Use a metal file to remove burrs from the cutting edge and body.
o Do not make the blade edge too sharp; this may cause the blade to chip or break.
o Do not use a mechanical grinder to sharpen the blade edge because it may cause a loss of temper through overheating
o Oil the metal surface lightly. Light machine oil works best. Avoid using any metal protectant that contains
o 1-1-1-trichloroethane. This chemical may damage and weaken the handle.
o Do not apply oil to the striking surface of tools.
o Do not paint metal surfaces - paint hides defects.
o Inspect the metal for chips, cracks, burrs, or sharp edges, and file them off when found
- Consider the following ways to reduce the amount of damage that will result from forcible entry:
o Begin the decision-making process with the minimum amount of damage and proceed to the maximum amount.
o Determine the severity of the emergency and the speed with which entry must be gained
o Try to open the door in the normal fashion. If that does not work, look for a lock box. A lock box may contain a key or means of opening the door.
o Look for a door window or side light panel that you can break to provide access to the lock on the interior.
forced entery-Determine if it is quicker to:
o Force the lock.
o Remove hinge pins.
o Force the door.
o Pry the door from the jamb
- Fences can be made of:
o Wood
o Masonry
o Chain-link
o Plastic
o Barbed wire
o Wire fabric
o Ornamental metal
- Fencing material that is stretched tight can recoil when it is cut, inflicting injuries to firefighters considerations
o Stand beside the fence post and cut the wire where it joins the post
o When it is cut, it will recoil in the direction of the next post
o Cut wire fences near posts to facilitate repair after the incident
- Various fences can be forced in several ways:
o Cut barbed wire fences with bolt cutters.
o Cut chain-link fences with a rotary saw; bolt cutters may be used as well but are slower.
- Security fences will have access points with locked or controlled gates. Security gates are used for:
o Residential housing complexes
o Industrial sites
o Construction sites
o Agricultural sites
- Door latches:
keep the door closed and consist of a handle on both sides of the door and a spring-loaded bar that extends into a receiver in the doorframe
- Door Locks can be divided into four basic types:
o Mortise lock
o Cylindrical lock
o Rim lock
o High security locks
- The mortise latch and lock assembly
is mounted in a cavity in the door edge.
o Older mortise assemblies have only the latch to hold the door closed, while newer units consist of both a latch and a key-operated deadbolt
- When the mechanism is in the locked position, the bolt protrudes from the lock into a receiver that is in the jamb.
- The latch may be operated with a doorknob or lever.
- Mortise locks are used on exterior wood and metal doors and can be found on:
o Private residences
o Commercial buildings
o Industrial buildings
Cylindrical locks
are the most common type of lockset found in residential applications.
o Their installation involves boring two holes at right angles to one another:
o one through the face of the door to accommodate the main locking mechanism and the other in the edge of the door to receive the latch or bolt mechanism.
- The two types of cylindrical locks are
the key-in-knob lock and the tubular deadbolt lock
- The key-in-knob lock
has a keyway in the outside doorknob; the inside knob may contain either a keyway or a button
o The button may be a push button or a push-and-turn button.
o In the unlocked position, a turn of either knob retracts the spring-loaded beveled latch bolt, which is usually no longer than ¾-inch (19 mm).
o Because of the relatively short length of the latch, key-in-knob locks are some of the easiest to pry open.
o If the door and frame are pried far enough apart, the latch clears the strike and allows the door to swing open
The tubular deadbolt lock
is mounted above the doorknob and may have a single cylinder or double action cylinder
o The single cylinder deadbolt has a keyway on the outside of the door and a thumb turn knob on the inside
o The double cylinder lock has a keyway on both sides of the door
- A rim lock
is mounted on the interior door surface and is used as a supplemental lock for doors that may or may not have other types of locks
where are rim locks found and how do they operate
- Turning a thumb-turn knob on the inside of the door operates rim locks. This lock is found in all types of occupancies, including:
o Houses
o Apartments
o Some commercial buildings
A variety of rim locks are currently available including the following:
o Night latch
o Deadbolt:
o Vertical deadbolt:
Night latch
This rim lock has a spring-loaded bolt with a beveled edge facing the doorframe.
This feature allows the door to lock when it is closed.
Deadbolt
This rim lock has a rectangular bolt that you must manually retract before the door can be closed and the bolt engaged with the receiver
If the bolt is extended the door cannot be closed.
Vertical deadbolt
This rim lock has a bolt that slides vertically into the receiver and does not cross the door opening and makes it impossible to open by spreading the door from the doorjamb
- High security locks include:
- Multiple bolt locks
- Electronic keyless locks
- Electromagnetic locks
Multiple bolt locks
The multiple bolt or multilock is a deadbolt lock that, when engaged, projects bolts 1 inch into two or more points on one edge of the door
o The lock may have a thumb turn knob or keyway on the inside of the door as well as a key-way on the exterior
- Electronic keyless locks
Found on both exterior and interior doors, keyless or digital locks may have a:
o Keypad
o Card reader
o Fingerprint-activated screen
o The locks are generally battery powered. Some keypads may also have a keyway.
Electromagnetic locks
The electromagnetic or magnetic lock consists of an electromagnet attached to the doorframe and an armature plate mounted on the door.
o An electric current passing through the electromagnet and the armature plate holds the door shut.
o Shutting off the power will release the door
- Locking devices
may be supplemental to the door lock or used in place of it.
- The best example of locking devices are padlocks
drop bar
door chain
door limiter
surface bolt
internal mounted bolt
Padlocks
are portable or detachable locking devices
Standard padlocks
have shackles of ¼ inch (6 mm) or less in diameter and are not case-hardened steel
- Heavy-duty padlock
have case-hardened steel shackles more than ¼ inch (6 mm) in diameter.
o toe and heel locking
part of heavy duty padlock
where both ends of the shackle are locked when depressed into the lock mechanism.
o These shackles will not pivot if one side of the shackle is cut. To remove the lock, cut both sides of the shackle
o Drop bar
Brackets are bolted or welded to the door and a wood or metal bar rests in the brackets and extends across the doorframe.
o Door chain:
The door chain is a supplemental locking device for residential doors.
A chain permits the door to be opened enough for a person within a residence to see and speak to a visitor but still restrict access
o Door limiter
Restricts the opening of the door and is similar to the supplemental security locks found in hotel rooms.
The door limiter consists of a frame-mounted plate with a shaft and knob and a hinged U-shaped shackle that mounts on the door.
o Surface bolt
Manually operated supplemental locking devices that can be mounted on most doors and some windows.
o Internal-mounted bolt
Flush bolts are installed in the edge of one side of a set of double doors.
This permits one side to remain locked while the other door is used for entry and exit.
When desired, the bolts can be retracted and both doors opened.
Swinging Doors
- The most common type of door is one that swings at least 90 degrees to open and close.
- An easy way to recognize which way a door swings is to look for the hinges.
o If you can see the hinges of the door, it swings toward you.
o If you cannot see the hinges, the door swings away from you.
Inward-Swinging Doors
- If the swinging door is metal or metal-clad in a metal frame set in a concrete or masonry wall, you may need other forcible entry techniques.
Outward-Swinging Doors
- Because the hinges on outward-swinging doors are mounted on the outside, it is often possible to use a nail set and hammer to drive the pins out of the hinges and simply remove the door.
You can also insert the blade of a rambar or Halligan into the space between the door and the doorjamb and pry that space open wide enough to allow the lock bolt to slip from its keeper.
Double-Swinging Doors
- If only a mortise lock secures the doors, you can insert the blade of a rambar or wedge of a Halligan between the doors to pry them far enough apart for the bolt to slip past the receiver.
- You can insert a metal-cutting blade of a rotary saw into the space between the doors to cut the deadbolt
If a single- or double-swinging door is locked with a drop bar, try one of the following methods to force entry:
o Use a rambar or Halligan tool to spread the space between the double doors. Insert a handsaw blade or other narrow tool through the opening and lift the bar up and out of the stirrups.
o Use a rotary saw to cut the exposed bolt heads that are holding the stirrups on the outside of the door. This will allow the drop bar to fall away and the door to be opened.
o Insert a rotary saw blade through the space between the double doors and cut the security bar.
If a tempered plate glass door must be broken, use the following guidelines:
o Use the pick end of a pick-head axe and strike the glass at a bottom corner.
o Wear complete PPE including a helmet-mounted faceshield or goggles to protect against eye injury.
o Place a salvage cover against the glass and strike through the cover to shatter the glass
o Scrape any remaining glass from the frame
Forcing Sliding Doors
- Forcible entry techniques include breaking the glass with an axe or lifting the sliding panel up and out of its track.
- Attempting to spread the door from the frame will result in the door shattering uncontrollably
- Firefighters will encounter security doors and gates in a number of forms including:
o Rollup doors, both manual and power operated
o Doors with open steel bars
o Doors that consist of multiple slats that can be closed to form a solid panel
Forcing Security Doors and Gates
- Forcible entry techniques include cutting off the padlock, using a rotary saw to make an opening near the lock, or cutting out a section of the door
Through-the-Lock Forcible Entry
use the through-the-lock entry method if the door does not open with conventional forcible entry methods.
- On some door locks, the lock cylinder can actually be unscrewed from the door.
- Removing the lock cylinder is only half the job. A key tool must then be inserted to open the lock in the same fashion as inserting a key
- The through-the-lock method is preferred for many:
o Commercial doors
o Residential security locks
o Padlocks
o High-security doors
- Along with standard forcible entry striking and prying tools, special tools may also be needed for the through the lock technique. Some examples of these special tools include:
o K-tool
o I-tool
o A-tool
o Shove knife
- The K-tool
is a V-blade tool useful in pulling lock cylinders
- The K-tool is forced behind the cylinder’s ring and face until the wedging blades bite into the cylinder
- A metal loop on the front of the K-tool provides a slot in which to insert one end of a prying tool.
- A firefighter then strikes the top of prying tool with a flat-head axe or other striking tool to set the K-tool
- Once the cylinder is removed, insert a key tool into the hole to move the locking bolt to the open position
The A-tool
is a prying tool with a sharp notch with cutting edges machined into it
- designed to cut behind the protective collar of a lock cylinder and maintain a hold so that the lock cylinder can be pried out.
- The notch resembles the letter A.
- The A-tool can often accomplish the same job as the K-tool, but it can cause slightly more damage to the door.
- The curved head and long handle are then used to provide the leverage for pulling the cylinder
- The chisel head on the other end of the tool is used when necessary to gouge out the wood around the cylinder for a better bite of the working head.
- Use the A-tool when pulling protected deadbolt lock cylinders and collared or tubular locks.
- The J-tool
is a device made of rigid, heavy gauge wire designed to fit through the space between double-swinging doors equipped with panic hardware
- The J-tool is inserted between the doors far enough to allow the tool to be rotated 90 degrees in either direction
- A firefighter can then pull the tool until it makes contact with the panic hardware.
- The firefighter then makes another sharp pull, and the tool should operate the panic hardware and allow the door to open
Shove Knife
- This flat steel tool, resembling a wide-bladed putty knife with a notch cut in one edge of the blade
- can provide firefighters rapid access to outward swinging latch-type doors.
- When used properly, the blade of the tool depresses the latch, which allows the door to open
- Duck-billed lock breaker
Wedge-shaped tool that will widen and break the shackles of padlocks
o Insert this tool into the lock shackle, and strike the tool with a maul or flat-head axe until the padlock shackles break.
Hammerhead pick
Has a pick on one end of the tool head and a hammerhead or striking surface on the other.
o Insert the pick into the padlock shackle and strike the tool with a maul or flat-head axe until the padlock shackles break
- locking pliers and chain
Lock the locking pliers firmly onto the body of the padlock.
o To keep the padlock stable, hold onto the chain.
o To cut both shackles, another firefighter uses a power saw or torch.
- Hockey puck lock breaker (pipe wrench
Adjust the pipe wrench to grip the hockey puck lock firmly.
o Apply downward pressure to the end of the wrench’s handle to twist the lock and break its interior mechanism.
Forcing Overhead Doors
- use a rotary saw to cut a square or rectangular opening about 6 feet (2 m) high and nearly the full width of the door.
- use the lift mechanism to open the door fully.
- Use cribbing or shoring blocks to prevent overhead doors from closing unintentionally
- Attach a pair of vice grips (locking pliers) to the overhead door rail above head height to keep the door from closing
Fire Doors
- Fire doors are movable assemblies designed to cover doorway openings in rated separation walls to prevent the spread of fire from one part of a building to another.
Fire doors are normally found on the inside of structures, separating one area from another, enclosing a hazardous process or storage area, or protecting a means of egress
- Types of standard fire doors include
sliding, swinging, and overhead rolling varieties
Forcing Fire Doors
Forcible entry should be similar to any other overhead or sliding door.
The most common technique used is breaking the glass, but it creates the following hazards and obstacles:
o Slows entry into the structure while firefighters clear the glass shards from the frame.
o Creates flying glass shards that may travel great distances from windows on upper floors.
o Covers floors in glass shards which can make footing treacherous for firefighters advancing charged hoselines.
o Could shower glass on victims inside the structure causing additional injury.
o Changes the flow path.
o Cannot be undone once the glass is broken
When using a pike pole to break a window, position yourself
upwind and higher than the window so that falling glass will not slide down the handle toward you
forced entry Fixed Windows
Force fixed windows or block window walls only as a last resort.
o To break these windows, you may need a sledge hammer or battering ram.
- Double-Hung Windows - Forcible entry
Forcible entry techniques for double-hung windows depend on how the window is locked and the material of which the sash frames are made.
o The lock mechanism will not pull out of the sash and may jam, creating additional problems
o it may be quicker to break the glass and open the lock manually.
- Single-Hung Windows forcible entry
Single-hung windows are identical to double-hung windows with the exception that only the bottom panel moves.
o Locks and locking devices are the same as those found on the double-hung windows.
o Forcible entry procedures are also the same as those used on the double-hung window
- Casement Windows forced entry
To force open a single-casement window, break the lowest pane of glass and clear shards from the frame.
o Reach in and unlock the locking mechanism, operate the crank to open the window frame, and then remove the screen completely.
- Horizontal Sliding Windows forced entry
The technique for forcing entry through a horizontal sliding window is the same as that used with the sliding door.
- Awning Windows - Forcible entry
Forcible entry through awning windows requires that you either break the glass or pry the window up from the frame.
Jalousie Windows forcible entry
You must remove several panes to enter through these windows.
o if you must enter through a jalousie window, it may be faster and more efficient to cut through the wall around the entire window assembly and remove it.
- Projecting Windows - Forcing entry
through projecting windows may be limited to breaking the glass or cutting the window panel out of the frame.
- Pivoting Windows - Forcing entry
through these windows follows the same procedure as the projecting window.
- Barred Windows
If there are sufficient resources available, remove all security bars from the building to allow for emergency egress when crews are operating inside the building
Breaching walls
creating a hole in the wall
- Exterior and interior walls also conceal:
o Electrical wires
o Water pipes
o Gas pipes
o Components of the building utilities
- Exterior walls may be:
o Wood frame
o Brick or concrete block
o Poured concrete
o Metal construction
- Studs are placed —- inches apart
- Studs are placed 16, 20, and sometimes 24 inches apart.
- Firefighters can cut wood frame walls with
an axe or shatter them with sledge hammers before prying the wall open using a crow bar or Halligan
Brick or Concrete Block Walls
- Breaching
with a battering ram can be slow and labor-intensive.
- it is best suited for opening a small hole in a wall through which water can be applied to a fire on the other side of the wall
- Power tools such as rotary saws with masonry blades or pneumatic or electric jack-hammers are best for breaching brick and concrete block walls.
- When breaching with concrete wall with hand tools
striking the middle of the wall is more efficient than starting near the top or bottom.
- One of the fastest and most efficient tools to breach concrete walls is
a chain saw equipped with a diamond-tipped chain.
- If a chain saw is not available, a pneumatic jackhammer can be used.
Metal Walls breaching
- Conventional forcible entry tools, such as an axe, rotary saw, or air-chisel, cut these thin metal panels with relative ease.
- A charged hoseline or an appropriate fire extinguisher should be available when cutting metal with a rotary saw because of the sparks produced.
- Cut a square or rectangular opening that is large enough for firefighters to pass through easily.
- The opening should be at least 6 feet (2 m) tall and as wide as needed
Interior Walls - Construction materials may be:
Masonry
o Glass block
o Poured concrete
o Lath-and-plaster
o Sheetrock®
what types of interior walls are designed to limit fire spread
- Both lath-and-plaster and gypsum wallboard are often relatively easy to penetrate with forcible entry striking hand tools or rotary and chain saws
reinforced wallboard
wallboard is attached to the wall frame using drywall nails or screws
is attached to the wall frame using drywall nails or screws.
- Reinforced wallboard looks identical to other wallboard because the Lexan reinforcement is installed on the back of the wallboard.
- This wallboard is designed to resist breaching using conventional forcible entry hand tools.
