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Turn it around and hold it “short” at the hook head, leaving the handle to drag behind you on the stair tread.
Axes. They must be “married” to another tool (this really is the case with all hand tools for trucks). Carry it with the halligan tool (mostly) or hook (roof operations on top-floor fires). Remember, any truck function assignment is not a one-tool operation. The most you will use an axe in today’s fire service is to strike something or to cut windowsills to begin overhaul and remove the entire window frame assembly.
Today’s fire departments usually await power saws when cutting is needed, even on inside parts of the structure. Axes without striking surfaces, pickhead axes, should be chromed, marked with the name of the person retiring, mounted on a plaque, and given as a memento—that is, if you believe no truck assignment is a one-tool operation.
Other unique uses for the axe are to leave it at the base of the door to the area you entered to search for a chock, to begin to peel the baseboard away around the room, and to use it as a sharp chisel for exposed rivets on locking devices (striking it with a halligan). The axe makes a better chisel than the adz of the halligan tool and is easier to use.
Removing baseboard. Why, where, and how do you remove baseboard? The reason 1 ask is that when you don’t have the “secret” to routine baseboard removal, a simple job becomes frustratingly burdensome. The baseboard usually is removed when it shows evidence of burn. But more importantly, remove it first on the floor directly above the fire to look for indications of fire extension.
To perform overhaul without extra effort, the truck person should know how an assembly is put together by the builder. In the case of baseboard, the smallest piece in the room is put in last and abuts the longer piece. Pry the shorter piece first, and the others will come easier. Again, as with the door frames, begin in the corners and not in the middle.
Halligan (type) tool. This is the single most versatile tool carried on any fire apparatus. It is used for all the above-mentioned functions as well as all the things described in firefighter tactic books. It is the best single tool to have in hand during search operations. One of its more innovative uses is for removing previously cut floorboards. The least effort is expended if you place the point or the adz under the board and use the other piece as a fulcrum on top of the beam the board is nailed into—it’s easier, prevents early fatigue, and certainly prevents back strain (the tool does the work). Baseboard removal, window and door trimming, and wall opening are just some of the routine operations within the fire structure.
Wall opening tips. Shove the fork end into the wall bay at about waist height. Drop (slide) the tool down inside the bay and pull back on it. The lath and plaster or any other sheathing will be opened like a can opener. Next, re-place the tool and slide it up the same bay and repeat the operation. Another idea: You can use it for low, small areas like closets. There is no reason to carry a “closet hook” into the structure when you can have a halligan. Besides, after you pull the shortened closet, what can you do with a 3‘A – to four-foot hook? Use the same type of tactics on the outside sheathing and on the roof.
When lied with the utility rope in your pocket, the halligan also makes an effective horizontal ventilation tool from upper areas. You can use it this way from the floor above the fire in residential-type high-rises, from roof areas when the fire is on the top Boor, or to vent in an inaccessible shaft at any floor. You also want to carry it hook-end up in stairwells and on fire escapes—carrying it down will cause it to snag on everything.
ON THE TOOLS AGAIN
RANDOM THOUGHTS
We’re still talking about basic hand tool uses for truck functions. Last month we were in the middle (near the end) of hook (pike pole) tactics. We talked about pulling different types of ceiling material. But where do you pull?
In high-rise office buildings, open a small area into the plenum as soon as you leave the elevator lobby. You must ensure that the flame has not extended there and is not racing to the return-air duct in the core of the building you are leaving. Eventually, you will have to examine as much of the ceiling space as possible to ensure that extension is answered for—even in the most remote corners of the floor.
Overhauling operations usually leave the ceiling examination of the upper portions of each fire room for the hooks. But where? Do you have to pull all the ceilings? Most of the answer lies in the fire location and intensity, building construction, and condition of the ceilings within the rooms that were exposed to fire. Here the tire location splits hook work into two tactical goals—a top-floor fire (also a one-story building) and fires not on the top Boor. The second half of the answer is whether fire has or may have penetrated into the space.
First look at the ceiling. Is there any bumthrough or are there any ceiling membrane openings that are fire-scarred? Pull those areas first. Pull until you find clear building material. If the fire is not on the top floor (and not in truss loft construction), pull the ceiling material covering from each of the 16-inch-on-center bays adjacent to the one in question. If clear, go on to another location or another job.
If there are no evident bum-through locations, go to the openings that the builder made. In older structures, pull around the ceiling fixture(s) or covered gas light lines. Once these are accounted for, move on to the penetration holes and escutcheon plates in steam-heat risers (usually in outside wall comers). There usually is no need to routinely pull the whole ceiling down in rooms below the top floor.
Here’s another trick: When you find bumthrough in flooring (careful—it may be evidence of flammable liquid; fire doesn’t usually bum down), it is easier to go to the floor below and pull the ceiling to check for fire extension than it is to chase it with axe and saw by cutting flooring.
How about top-floor fires and fires in structures with parallel chord lightweight wood trusses? What we are concerned with in these cases are the cockloft space and the truss loft space, respectively. In truss-constructed structures, there are no ceiling rafters to act as fire stops every 16 inches on center. If there is evidence of bum-through, the entire ceiling usually must come down.
You also can use your hook for opening the upper portions of walls and for trimming door assemblies. Remember to pull at the corners of the molding, removing the top horizontal piece first. A short tug on the tops of the vertical pieces will pry them out enough to let you pull them off with your hand (gloved, of course).
Carrying hooks. All the books say to carry the pike pole “hook-end down.” Great answer for tests—but what are the exceptions to the rule? The most important, other than when you enter the fire compartment, is in elevators. Most firefighters never think of taking the time to turn the hook around before boarding an elevator car. If you need it (ever been trapped in an elevator and needed to pound the roof hatch open?), you never will be able to turn it hook-end up. And on exiting, the crowded conditions will prevent it.
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