Great video, thank you!

Sorry didn't get to finish. The top floor will be broken up into rooms and a vent hole remote from area where companies are operating will not benefit them

Great video guys are very squared away. The only situation where I might cut a second hole in the roof of a multiple dwelling is an advanced fire in the cockloft fire spread will not be an issue and you will be giving some relief to the companies operating on the top flloor( residential apartments will be compa

This ain't lockpicking, this is a method to avoid having to break out a halligan bar for firefighters. We don't carry shotguns, and the person on the other side of the door called 911 and is in a position to not be able to unlock the door. So, we open it quickly doing as little damage as we can. I'm not going to break out a set of picks and try to pick a lock when I can either do this, or if this fails, go through regular forced entry.

Any reason you wouldn't use a rabbit tool to open the door, or at least get a big gap before finishing with the haligan?

What chain is that?

74KU - I guess quick and little damage is a relative team. I meant that it was quick and little damage as compared with conventional forcible entry techniques which would have destroyed the door, frame, knob, and framing around the door. As far as firefighting forcible entry is concerned, the $20 or $30 to replace the knob is little damage. I will admit that I mangled the knob pretty good in this instance, I have also performed this same technique with no damage at all to the knob.

Not bad, but id like to see it done from start to finish on a door and not in a vise. Its gotta be more difficult to get your hands around it and a good hold while trying to keep it straight if theres a door on one side. But i could be wrong.

Is it just me or am I the only one that hates the name 'bam bam tool'. Its a slide hammer dammit.

Shotgun the fucker. Seriously though.. quick and with little damage? I am a noob lockpicker and still I have not come across a knob in lock I can't pick almost as fast as using the key...

Solid vent work. Oh and ffembrrt I'm glad I don't live in your first due. I cut on roofs of this type on a regular basis . It is about your situautional awareness ,training level , competence level, fire location and progress. Never, say "never".

Additionally, we teach to force and CONTROL all doors regardless if fire is behind those doors or not. This trains firefighters to the worst case scenario ALL THE time, thus keeping them as safe as possible when fire is encountered.

@The54catwoman: We don't teach "check for heat" because in our experience of forcing hundreds of doors at fires we as a collective whole of instructors have never found a door with fire behind it that was not readily known when we approached the door. 100% of the time with fire behind the door AT LEAST the top 1/3 of the door has visible fire showing from the cracks, heavy smoke pushing, paint peeling, or the door buckling from the heat.

Dent puller works much better.

@bigpoppafire No problem brother. We appreciate the feedback and comments ALWAYS. Chris and I (Nate) forced a couple of good commercial doors in the old Yankee Stadium when it was being torn down last year. It took us well over 4-5 minutes to force the three hinges that were secured into steel frames and attached to steel doors. It is certainly not as easy as many firefighters think. Stay safe bro and thanks again!

@ChuckCh9: Certainly the hinges are an option, but not our first option as we teach to keep the integrity of the door in nearly all forcible entry operations. Many firefighters think that the hinges are easier, because you can just "pop the pins". In commercial doors, the hinges are typically more secure and the pins cannot be "popped". This door had multiple locks engaged and was moderately secured, and was easily forced in under a minute. Thanks for the response and stirring discussion.

@bigpoppafire: We choose to keep the integrity of the door in nearly all forcible entry application. Attacking the hinges is certainly an option, but I don't think it will be the quickest way in in most circumstances. Many times on commercial doors, the pins are not as accessible as residential doors, so that makes it even more complicated. If the pins are not accessible, you have to literally "pull" the hinges from the frame. Not an easy task. Thanks for stirring discussion. Great question.

If heavy fire is discovered in the cockloft with light weight construction components such as this, a withdraw of members off of the roof and out of the top floor would be in order. If the roof is stable enough to have crews operating under, there had better be members on top of it to perform vertical ventilation and other valuable roof tasks. Thanks for commenting, don't hesitate to disagree with us. Disagreements force us to justify our teachings and allow us to learn from each other.

@ffembrrt I could not disagree with you more. It is perfectly acceptable to cut parallel cord wood truss roofs. The saw operator must be cognizant of construction type and not sink the blade deeper than necessary to avoid cutting through the top cord. Once light weight construction components are found that information should be relayed to interior units and the incident commander, especially if fire has entered the cockloft.

Nice demonstration. What caught me by surprise was when he pulled that last section of roof, it exposed a wood truss with gusset plate. This type of roof should never be cut or even operated on. If we are cutting a roof, then I'm assuming a tax payer or top floor fire, in which case once we recognize we have a light weight wood truss, all members should be removed from roof operations immediately.

I like the card threw the door method.

If the need to remove glass blocks is not an emergency (like in this video example) we would recommend putting duck tape over the blocks so the glass being removed does not travel very far. Many times homeowners and commercial property owners will want to remove smaller groupings of blocks to add an air vent for more air flow in a room. If you're unsure (or not comfortable) doing this a glass block installation company can help.

All I got to say is WOW!!! good job guys

Awsome job guys. Practice like ya play.

Excellent video as always. I wish we had that type of saw/blade combo for vent work instead of just a chainsaw.

@USMCThompson4149: He is fully protected, and we practice like we play. Had he had to make entry, he would have donned his mask on the ladder, which should be a practiced action. We do not teach to walk around the fireground with our facepieces on. Many firefighters personally conduct exterior operations on the fireground with no facepiece on, because they are not operationg in an IDLH atmospere. If needed, they can quickly don the mask to make entry. I see nothing wrong with the operation.

Nice, thanks.

I remember in training doing this, and they say not to look back at your partner or whatever. But I'm glad I did seeing that he was about the strike with the blade of the axe. I almost shit my pants.

@BrotherhoodInstrctrs We also tell members that they must be proficient with striking both left and right handed, and the Halligan firefighter must be proficient and comfortable standing on both sides of the tools. Something as simple as a wall present at the end of a hallway will force you to stand on one side or the other. Great points & great discussion. - Nate DeMarse

@7DragonSlayer7: We agree to a certain extent, but we teach the striking firefighter to only hit as hard as they can knowing that they will hit the tool 100% of the time. I personally choose to stand opposite of what is shown in the video. Some of us prefer the way shown. We let the member decide, since it is personal preference. While the Adz does offer you a little bit of protection, this should never be a problem if members are properly trained and practice with the tools. - Nate DeMarse

Great prop and techniques brothers! - I would also add that when using the "Fork" method the "Toolman" should position on the other side of the Halligan bar when possible. This will allow the "Adz" end to give him or her a little more protection against being hit by the "Striker" - Keep up the great videos!

If a loss or delay of water occurs, the door can also be shut limiting the oxygen into the building and the spread of fire. This could be the difference between a professional rebound and re-attack, or it could mean the loss of the building, or worse yet a block of stores.

@jlm993 Great point bro, and I did forget to mention that. If a loss of water occurs or a person shows at a window directly over the doorway, the door can be closed. This will limit the oxygen entering the building and delay fire extension. Although it is only a glass door, it can hold back a fire condition to effect a rescue over a portable ladder or fire escape. If the glass is taken the person mention above is either cooked, with no way to control the fire.

GREAT VID. Also when the glass is out we loose control of ventilation. With the door intact we can open or close it based on needed ventilation tactics.

@firefightermeath Unnecessary radio traffic (in part) is the instructors providing traffic that is typically found in all mayday scenarios. Unnecessary radio traffic plagues our firefighter removal operations on every incident that we have been involved with, so we duplicate it at our drills. Respectfully, Nate DeMarse

@firefightermeath Most of the unnecessary radio traffic are the instructors playing real-life members. All of the "mayday fires" that our instructors have operated at, unnecessary radio traffic is a constant problem. We use this factor to increase the realism. - Nate DeMarse

@basehorhonda: We use sheetrock to replicate glass windows. It works very well.

What did you guys use for "glass"? Looks like brown paper or maybe cardboard. Nice idea.

@bumppo45 We appreciate the thoughts. We don't mind the criticism as long as they don't mind getting it back when it is deserved ;-) Thanks for posting. - Nate

@theatomicfart1001 Yes, it would. But he isn't going to miss unless I move the tool. In which case, I would be at fault.

@backdraftmagnet I agree that the green proby should not immediately swing like that, but it should be the goal of every proby, middle of the road and veteran firefighter to gain 100% accuracy with the most power possible. It is our (the firefighter's teaching the new guys) job to get them to that level. If we do not....we have failed in our task to pass our techniques and knowledge along.

@backdraftmagnet I disagree with you on it being "dangerous". I see no problem with Andrew's swing here. He is taking professional measures by crossing his tools. I know that Andrew has 100% control over his swings and his accuracy is DEAD-ON, and he knows this as well! As we say, "Only strike as hard as you can, knowing that you are going to hit it 100% of the time!" If you aren't comfortable swinging hard, then hit the same spot on a railroad tie 100 times with power & accuracy.