By JASON JEFFERIES
Having a quality set of wire cutters in your turnout gear is essential for every firefighter. You can use these cutters for simple tasks such as cutting battery cables at a motor vehicle accident or removing wires during overhaul. A more vital use for this tool is removing wires (cable TV wires, plastic AC duct work coiled wire, suspended ceiling wire supports, and so on) from your body in case you become entangled during firefighting operations. Anyone who has ever found himself in an entanglement prop knows how important it is to purchase a set of dependable cutters. This is where your selection of type of cutters is critical. When you tell new firefighters that they need to get wire cutters, it leaves room for a lot of interpretation. Eventually, the firefighters will spend a few bucks on cutters that may do the job, but the cutters are not exactly the type you meant.
There are many designs of wire cutting tools that you can purchase at any hardware or home improvement store. Some firefighters prefer EMS shears and some carry straight blade tin snips, while others think that carrying a knife is the answer for cutting everything. Unfortunately, a knife is not the tool of choice when it comes to cutting wires. No matter what type of cutters you carry, it is critical to train with them so that you know their capabilities and limitations. This article will discuss three of the most common types of cutters along with their pros and cons.
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Photo 1. On the left is a set of linesman’s dikes/pliers, in the middle is a set of standard wire cutters, and on the right is a set of cable cutters. Although there are many more types, these three are the most common.
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Photo 2. As you can see, linesman’s dikes/pliers are heavy-duty wire cutters. Also notice that there are pliers on the end of the tool, giving you the ability to pinch, if needed, or remove a nut from a bolt.
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Photo 3. Just as with a cutter or combi-tool that works off of hydraulic power for extrication, the most cutting force applied is directly in the hinge of the tool, where the two blades come together.
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Photo 4. The dikes have the same weak spot as the combi-tool; they can cut only the surface the blade touches. A doubled up wire or multiple wires in the jaws of a set of dikes will cause the tool to pinch the end wire while preventing it from cutting anything in the blades. This is the primary reason this tool is not the best choice for emergency wire cutting. Sure, it has the ability to pinch the head of a bolt, enabling you to remove it, but removing a bolt is not a function you would typically do in an emergency situation.
EXAMINING THE WIRE CUTTERS
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Photo 5. Different from the dikes, the jaws of standard wire cutters feature a complete cutting surface. Wire or cable that gets in the jaw of this tool can be cut anywhere the surface of the blade touches, from hinge to tip. These cutters will not pinch wire. However, they are a little smaller, making them much more difficult to locate with a gloved hand in a pocket full of other items. One of the drawbacks of this tool is the shortened handle. Although more compact, the shorter handle reduces the amount of leverage applied, making you work harder to cut through a thicker wire. Along with the shortened handle, the cutting surface is smaller, decreasing the diameter of the wire these cutters are capable of severing. Although it is not the preferred tool for emergency wire cutting, it is adequate for most applications and can be used as backup cutters.
In my opinion, cable cutters are the best cutters for emergency wire cutting. They will cut from hinge to tip and anything from small wires to 3⁄8-inch spun cable, provided you have the grip strength to cut through the material. The popularity of cable cutters among firefighters has even prompted several tool manufacturers to develop a set with a spring between the handles, allowing you to use the tool with one hand in case one arm is injured, entangled, or pinned beneath debris.
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Photo 6. Not only are cable cutters rugged but they are also large enough to locate with a gloved hand, they are better at cutting multiple wires at once, and they cut larger wires with ease. Periodically applying lubricant to the hinge of the tool will keep it free so that the cutters can be used with one hand. That is extremely important considering that, when entangled, you could be limited to using one hand. It is the primary cutters I carry in my gear, and I keep it in my chest pocket. I keep a smaller set of standard wire cutters in my pants pocket as a backup.
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Photo 7. As you can see, the cable cutters are larger. This not only gives you more leverage while cutting, but it also makes the cutters easier to retrieve from the chest pocket of your coat.
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Photo 8. The wire cutters fall about one inch short of the top of the pocket, and the head is much smaller, whereas the cable cutter reaches the top of the pocket (depending on your gear manufacturer) and has a much larger head. This makes the cable cutters much easier to get to in a hurry while wearing heavy gloves.
Each firefighter is different regarding the type of gear he wears, the types of pockets available for additional tools, and where he prefers to keep his cutters. Many firefighters have added a “tail” to the handle of their cutters, making retrieving them easier. This can be accomplished with athletic tape and a short piece of webbing. Simply lay the webbing along side of the tool’s handle, wrap the tape, and secure an end of the webbing to the handle. After placing the tool in a pocket, the end of the webbing hangs out of the pocket flap a few inches, giving you a tail to grab hold of to retrieve the cutters.
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Photo 9. I prefer to keep cutters in my “radio” pocket because, for instance, if I am crawling and am hit in the back with enough weight to be pushed to the floor in a prone position, 99 percent of the time my hands will be balled up under my chest. If you carry your cutters in your pants pocket, you might as well leave them on the truck because getting to them could be nearly impossible depending on the severity of the entanglement. If your radio is on a radio sling with a mic on the shoulder strap and you have cable cutters in your chest pocket, then your hands will be next to them in a collapsed ceiling situation almost all of the time, allowing you to call your Mayday and retrieve your cutters to start clearing your body.
I carry the standard wire cutters as a spare in the right leg pocket of my bunker pants because I like to keep an extra set of wire cutters for nonemergency tasks such as cutting wires that need to be removed during overhaul. That keeps my primary cutters sharp so when I need them they will perform flawlessly.
Before cutting any wire, neutralize any power supply to prevent injury. From a tactical safety standpoint, it is critical to secure the utilities such as gas, water, and power at any structure fire. Further, when a firefighter is entangled by wire, ensuring that the building is deenergized will eliminate the possibility of the rapid intervention team and the down/entangled firefighter being shocked or electrocuted.
None of these tools are expensive. The most expensive were the cable cutters, which cost about $16 at a home improvement store. Firefighters load the pockets of their turnout gear with a multitude of hand tools. It is imperative to select the right tool for the job, and when it comes to entanglement emergencies, cable cutters are your best option.
JASON JEFFERIES is a 15-year fire service veteran and a firefighter with the Charlotte (NC) Fire Department, assigned to Ladder 13. Jefferies is also a volunteer with the Belmont (NC) Fire Department and a North Carolina live burn instructor. He is a staff instructor at the Gaston College Regional Emergency Services Training Center, where he instructs in firefighter I and II certifications, industrial fire brigade training, and firefighter survival. Jefferies also instructs in rapid intervention team training at the North Carolina Breathing Equipment School.
