Chapter 11 - Firefighting Tools

When is the choke lever switch her handle engaged when starting a cold engine?

After the fire fighter checks at the stop or kill switch is in the off position

Air chisel

Air powered tool shaped like an oversied gun that accepts different styles of bits, used to cut metal, shear off bold heads, and break apart objects such as concrete, tile, or block

Locks slot 8

An 8 pound flat head ax that is forged with two slots into the head that allows the hellions forks to slide into the grooves and be married to the axe tightly

Safety break handle

Are used to prevent the blade from rotating across the bar as the throttle lever is engaged

thermal imaging camera

Durable, portable, camera device that reads heat sources through smoke or inside of walls using infrared radiation

San Francisco hook

Has a chisel point on the top of the pike that allows for quick insertion into the ceiling and efficient trip removal. The hook end is 90 degrees to the handle of the tool and has serrated teeth on the underside, giving it the ability to bite into material as it is pulled open

Providence Hook

Has a cutting surface on the backside of the point and another on the top of the hook. Pushes easily into gypsum and plaster and is great for penetrating plaster and lath and tin ceilings

Eight-pound splitting maul

Has a sledgehammer face on one side and a wedge shaped splitter on the other side

Halligan hook

Has engineered angles which makes quick work of overhaul and prying roof sheathing off the roof joist. Good for opening up ceilings, moldings, baseboards, and other trim

LA Trash hook

Has wide metal head with two long prongs that bite into the material that is being pulled

Pry axe

It's head is a combination cutting edge and Pike and much like pick head axe but on a smaller scale

Chicago pike pole

Its head has angular hook and its pike is four sided with a pyramid on the top. Shape allows the tool to have tremendous strength and power for penetrating material and opening up molding

Pig

Large metal flat head striking surface on one side of the head with a thicker pike end on the opposite side

Smoke ejector

Larger than normal ventilation fan used to clear smoke from a building and can also provide fresh air into the structure and can also provide fresh air into the structure or into a confined space rescue

Aluminum Oxide abrasive blades

Made up of metallic and composite materials held together by an organic bonding agent

Gunning the saw

Playing with the saws throttle while waiting to perform another cut

Rotary Saw

Portable saw with a two cycle engine that normally runs on the gas and oil fuel mixture or with and ethanol free fuel liquid made by specific manufacturers

Bolt Cutters

Provide quick and relatively easy method of cutting through various types of metal. Made of high quaity carbon steel with long powerful handles (not fiberglass) with rubber grips

Pinch point bar

Prybar with only one beveled side

Edge point bar

Prybar with the bevel side on both sides of the bar forming a wedge point

Diamond cut grit blade

Similar to carbide tips but are covered with industrial diamonds and grit held together by a bonding agent located towards the tip of the blade. Can cut through steel, concrete and wood

Halligan Bar

Single piece of forged steel that has three workable ends: the adz, the pick or pike, and the fork end (9lbs)

Rescue struts and stabilizers

Metal extending supports that can be made in a circle or tubular design that can extend and be used to support or stabilize loads such as a vehicle on its side

Falcon hook

Modified halligan hook with broadened hooks and a curved cutting blade at the top, is a great hook for lightweight, metal buildings, tin ceilings, ductwork, and other hard surface materials

Carbide tip blade

Normally used for roof ventilation and cutting wood flooring and are capable of cutting tar covered roofs, acrylic glass panels, and light gauge metal

Chainsaws

Normally used for ventilation efforts at structure fires or for cutting trees to provide a fire break in wildland fire fighting operations. It is a portable saw with a two cycle engine that runs on gas and oil fuel mixture

New York Roof Hook

One side of the head is flat so that it can be slid up along the wall to remove a skylight or flashing. The other head design allows one end to pry up roof boards easily when placed onto or next to the joist. The opposite side of the head allows lath and plaster to be pulled and knocked away from the firefighter during the pulling motion

D Handle tools

Tools that come with a D handle on the opposite end of them to assist firefighters in using the tool with a pulling motion

Hydraulic Forcible entry tool

Used for forcing inward opening doors or side sliding elevator doors

Sledgehammer

Used to strike an object or another tool. Has striking surfaces on both sides of the head

Aluminum door wedge / chocks

Wedges are either smooth, solid, or made with grooves and have a hole in them for the pike of the halligan tool to be used with the wedge. The metal wedge can also be driven into the tight space between the door and the jamb to open it up for tool insertion

Claw tool

multi purpose prying tool with a hook at one end and a fork at the other

Gypsum board hook

A clawed rake can cut and open gypsum wall board with three teeth to grab material and a cutting balte that perforates the gypsum

Boston rake

A goose neck head mounted onto a pole. Predominantly used in older buildings for opening up plaster and lath walls

Duck billed padlock breaker

A long metal tapered wedge tool used for inserting into the shackles of a padlock

All axe

A modified pick head ax with a metal handle on the opposite end of the head with a Halligan tools fork and attached to it

K tool

A piece of metal channel tool used to pull lock cylinders when firefighters perform through the lock forcible entry techniques

Bi-metal

Can cut metal and wood products

TNT Tool

Combination of an axe and a sledgehammer with the opposite end having having a modified pipe full head on it were the point and has been replaced with a wider prybar at

Reciprocating sawl

Commonly used for vehicle extrication's, machinery extrication's, in building collapses. They use an alternating direction motor to move the blade back-and-forth to cut through material

Bottle jacks

Small cylinder objects with a center yoke that extends under hydraulic pressure to lift and object

Elevator Keys

Small metal cylindrical rods with modified ends that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles with probably the most common being the drop key for sliding elevator doors

Shove knife

Small tool made o spring metal or plastic from a detergent container. Its head has some various indentations and cut outs in it to slide open the locking latch on doors or on double hung windows

Brush brooms

Specialized booms used by the fire service made out of bamboo type material that holds up to the wear and tear of overhauling and extinguishing along with water at grass, brush, and wildland fires.

Pick Headed Axe

Steal head single bit axe (only one cutting blade) attached to a wood or fiber glass handle. 6-8 lbs

Flat head axe

Steel handle, single bit axe attached to a fiberglass or wood handle. Opposite side has flat striking surface

Badaxxe

Tapered flat head with a gas valve shutoff built into it

Decompression button

The button that reduces the pressure in the cylinder and makes the saw easier to start