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27 June 2025
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Featured FRI Magazine article: Forcible entry using the Halligan tool by Colin Deiner
The greatest thing about the Halligan is that it is always ready to go
The Halligan was developed by Chief Hugh Halligan of the New York City Fire Department in 1948
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The neatest Halligan tool or best other tool means nothing if the person handling it doesn’t know when and where to use it
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As an alternative, the bar positioned and striking the ‘shoulders’ instead
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Training props used in forcible entry exercises can be cost effective
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https://www.frimedia.org/uploads/1/2/2/7/122743954/fri_vol_3_no_6.pdf
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Forcible entry using the Halligan tool written by Colin Deiner, Chief Director, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government (FRI Vol 3 no 6). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Forcible entry using the Halligan tool
By Colin Deiner, Chief Director, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government
It is probably the best known fire service tool in the world. It also comes with a rich history and although many manufacturers have developed their own variations (and even changed the name) the tool has largely stayed the same since it was developed by Chief Hugh Halligan of the New York City Fire Department in the late forties.
Hugh A Halligan started his career as a fire fighter with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in 1916. During a career spanning 43 years (1916 to 1959), he rose through the ranks from fire fighter to deputy commissioner. Fire fighters, at this time, were using a tool called a ‘claw tool’ to force open doors.
The claw tool also has an interesting, almost folklorish history. The story goes that a fire was started in a lower Manhattan bank in order to cover-up a burglary in the early 20th century. Fire fighters found an odd tool with a claw-like end among the rubble and, upon investigation, it was determined that the tool was used by the burglars to break into the bank. Fire fighters had thought that if the tool was good enough to break into a bank, it was good enough for them. And so the ‘claw tool’ became the primary forcible entry tool used by the FDNY. Many believe that this was the first tool used specifically for forcible entry.
During Chief Halligan’s time at FDNY, numerous injuries resulted when an axe struck the rounded bow on the hook end of the tool. It would tend to slide quickly to the side and hit the fire fighter’s arm or fingers. FDNY had also started using the ‘Kelly Tool’, designed by Captain John F Kelly of FDNY Hook and Ladder Company 163, for opening doors and other barriers. This tool wasn’t the answer to their needs, which then led to Chief Halligan designing the tool that has carried his name ever since.
The Halligan tool was introduced to the fire fighting world in the March 1948 edition of ‘Fire Engineering’ magazine. An excerpt from this feature reads: “A new, lightweight forcible entry tool has been designed by Chief Hugh. A Halligan of the New York Fire Department, which possess new and original features. It is said to combine attributes of the utilitarian standard claw tool and the efficient Kelly (sic) tool as well as certain advantage of the ubiquitous pick, or hook and flat head axe.”
The city of Boston was the first to purchase and use the Halligan tool. However, unfortunately because of a conflict with New York City laws, the FDNY couldn’t purchase the tool until the legal issues had been resolved; a familiar concept which we still live with today. Numerous other fire departments did, however, buy the tool directly from Chief Halligan, some even using their own money.
Since those heady days the tool has undergone many modifications, and even some name changes. The basic design has however not changed radically and is still probably the favourite tool of fire fighters.
Tool design
Essentially, the Halligan is a steel rod that with a steel fork on one end and a wedge and tapered pick on the other end. It generally weighs around five kilograms and has a length of 76cm. While the original (and preferred) Halligan tools are a one-piece steel rod, some manufacturers have secured the ends on by means of pins sunk into the main shaft using drive pins.
They have also over the years adapted the length of the shaft in both directions (either shorter or longer). Both have specific advantages and disadvantages. A shorter Halligan might not give you the leverage while a longer one will impede working in confined spaces.
For me the ideal Halligan should be a one-piece forged steel construction with a tapered fork bevelled to act as a fulcrum for projecting greater force and a wedge with a slight downward curve. I also like the Halligan with a rough surface on the rod which increases grip. If you don’t have this feature, go down to your local sports store and see if you can find the type of grip cover used on cricket bat handles and wrap that around the bar.
A further neat trick is to paint marks on both the wedge and fork which indicate the depth of the tool’s penetration into the door.
Many fire departments have gone for cheaper alternatives with a straight wedge and a non-tapered thick fork, which makes it difficult to penetrate the opening between the door and its frame. Take care when deciding which tool to buy for your department. Small things like the width and angle of the wedge and fork could mean the difference between a quick entry into a structure and lives being saved or lost.
The greatest thing about the Halligan is that it is always ready to go. There are no working parts; it doesn’t need fuel, doesn’t have an engine and no batteries are required. It also doesn’t need to be set-up beforehand. How well it will works depends on the operator and his/her knowledge of the tool and the situation in which it will be used.
Forcible entry
Forcible entry is the same as any fire ground tactic; you need to size-up the situation beforehand and decide on the right tactics and the appropriate tools for the job. Knowing your response area is where it starts. If you are responding to a commercial occupancy, the forcible entry challenges will be somewhat different to those you will encounter at a residential occupancy. This will dictate which tools come off the truck first.
Don’t overburden your crew with too many forcible entry tools. Remember, someone needs to carry them from the fire truck to the staging area and then put them into action without hurting themselves. Although we face more and more security barriers, especially in residential occupancies, they can mostly be addressed with the same tools that we have been using all these years. More on this later.
Check out the types of doors you may encounter and decide which additional tools you may need. Don’t stop training. Forcible entry can’t be learnt once and then not exercised until the skills are needed on the fire ground. You need to constantly exercise. Find out if any buildings are due to be demolished anywhere close to your station area. Move in before the demolition and go to work on the doors, windows and any other structures that could keep you in practice. Also be alert while doing your daily job. I once read a report of a paramedic who noticed a particular lock assembly at a liquor store while on an EMS call. He described the lock to his colleagues who approached a local security firm for help. They had in fact installed a number of these devices in businesses in the area and although it looked intimidating due to the fact that it had bars running into the locking mechanism it was actually quite simple to open by using a ‘through-the-lock’ technique.
Always remember that when you have to force open a door or other opening, to try and do so with minimum damage. You might be feeling very proud at having cut open all the roller doors of a small business but appreciate that someone has to pay for it. It also needs to be secured after the incident and this might be difficult depending on the amount of damage you have done. Once the opening has been created, you need to ensure that the access route is sustainable. Use a ceiling hook to keep the roller-shutter door open. You might need to but a smoke extractor near the top of the door you have just forced open. Ensure that your opening is going to allow you the maximum opportunity to do this. Every fire fighter should carry two devices that are able to keep doors open. These could be wedges or a device that fits over hinges forcing them open. The reason you need two devices are that in some cases the area might be too congested for hinges, with people continuously knocking them out of place or the doors might not have hinges necessitating the need for wedges.
Consider including a hydraulic forcible entry tool in your arsenal. It might be relatively simple for most forcible entry teams to open one or two doors with their standard irons but when faced with multiple doors in a hot, smoke-filled environment, it could lead to exhaustion and severely compromise the team’s safety.
Before starting on a door, do a thorough assessment of its construction. How is the door frame and adjoining wall constructed? Does it swing away from or towards the forcible entry team? How is the lock constructed and how complicated is it to defeat. Would a ‘through the lock’ technique not be the best option?
When dealing with commercial garage doors, security gates and window bars, the tool of choice will be a rotary saw. In South Africa with our high security awareness, it is vital that a rotary saw with the right choice of blade be included on each responding unit. I recall some years back when a fire department responded to a fire in a mattress factory, which had a number of commercial garage doors, without a rotary saw. They wasted precious time trying to bash down the door with sledge hammers while one good rotary saw would have saved the lives lost in that fire.
The neatest Halligan tool or best other tool means nothing if the person handling it doesn’t know when and where to use it. Don’t lose sight of the big picture; if the door is hot, chances are there is a fire on the other side. Will it be safe to knock it down? What other options exist? If you have access to a thermal imaging camera it could be of great value in helping you make the correct decision.
The sector officer must continuously evaluate the forcible entry effort and make the decision to change tactics if there is no progress. This is sometimes difficult as the team will feel that they have made significant progress and ‘are almost there’ and will try to finish the job. You might have to make a hard call and follow it through.
The officer must communicate any delays in achieving their objective to the incident commander. The entire plan of attack might be based on how quick the fire suppression team can gain entry into a particular part of a structure. Any lengthy delays might necessitate the incident commander to change the plan and the sooner this is communicated, the sooner the plan can be changed.
So, where should we attempt our entry? The best advise here is for fire crews to use the same entrance as that used by the normal occupants to enter. Other doors might be bolted and secured for security reasons and cause all kinds of problems in trying to get through. Occupants might have changed the layout of rooms and decided not to use certain doors anymore and placed obstacles like shelving or furniture in front of them.
Forcible exit
Once entry is gained into a structure and the attack teams start ‘chasing the fire’, they might move a considerable distance into the structure and with every step forward move away from their escape route. When things go south, it might be necessary to exit the building through the closest possible exit. If the entire structure is barred up this could become a very difficult and possibly fatal exercise. Some solutions would be for the nozzle team to carry a Halligan tool and some smaller tools with them or for a truck company crew to move along the outside of the building in tandem with the nozzle team and create a series of openings close to the team at certain strategic places. I know this goes against my earlier observation of causing the minimum damage but if the incident requires such actions eg the possibility of saving lives, it is acceptable.
A balanced fire attack means that the supporting units ie truck company, should not sit idly by and wait for a panic alarm before attempting a search and rescue. They should proactively support the interior nozzle crew by creating openings, placing ladders and ventilating the structure to enable a safer interior working environment.
Training
Due to the high cost of doors and windows many fire fighters in this country get very little practice in actually forcing locks or breaking doors and windows. A visit to the United States Air Force Fire Academy in 1995 exposed me to a large variety of forcible entry props, which were essentially doors and windows built on wheeled carts that could be moved into position for any range of exercises. Each prop had a space where a sacrificial lock, glass or wood could be connected and be used over and over. Those ideas haven’t yet blown across the ocean to us but I am hoping that someone somewhere will look into this in the near future.
Using the Halligan
By combining the Halligan tool with a flathead axe and sledgehammer, you will have a versatile tool selection that will get you past most normal forcible entry challenges. The axe can cut through laminated wood and laminated safety glass and can also be a powerful chisel for cutting through objects when it is being driven by a sledgehammer. You can also use the axe blade to increase the gap between the doorframe and the door allowing easier insertion of the Halligan. It can also be used to widen the gap to allow for a rotary saw to freely cut the lock mechanism.
After an opening has been created, the axe blade can be used as a wedge to increase the fulcrum for the Halligan to force the lock open. By placing the axe head flat against the door or gate close to the opening, the Halligan’s wedge can then be inserted into the opening and push back onto the axe head to increase its leverage. The axe blade can also provide a greater surface against which the Halligan tool can push back on and prevent wedge or spike from penetrating a wood or other thinly covered door.
Using a sledgehammer as a striking tool is much more effective than the head of an axe and is safer. Inward opening doors can also be easily knocked off its hinges with a sledgehammer. You can also use your sledgehammer to knock out masonry if the other openings create too much of an entry problem.
The primary function of the Halligan is forcing a door but it has plenty of other uses. When you become proficient with the Halligan, you’ll discover many other ways to use it and wouldn’t want to be without it when you enter a fire involved structure.
In closing
For me, the effectiveness of a fire service can be gauged by how its engine compartments (lockers) are configured. It indicates how the department thinks operationally. If your flathead axe and Halligan tools are stored in separate compartments, you are not taking forcible entry seriously. Placing your Halligan, flathead axe and sledgehammer in the same locker, close to the crew cab or even in the crew cab, will let you get to the front door quicker and then allow you to get working faster. Think operationally.
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Forcible entry using the Halligan tool written by Colin Deiner, Chief Director, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government (FRI Vol 3 no 6). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Forcible entry using the Halligan tool
By Colin Deiner, Chief Director, Disaster Management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government
It is probably the best known fire service tool in the world. It also comes with a rich history and although many manufacturers have developed their own variations (and even changed the name) the tool has largely stayed the same since it was developed by Chief Hugh Halligan of the New York City Fire Department in the late forties.
Hugh A Halligan started his career as a fire fighter with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in 1916. During a career spanning 43 years (1916 to 1959), he rose through the ranks from fire fighter to deputy commissioner. Fire fighters, at this time, were using a tool called a ‘claw tool’ to force open doors.
The claw tool also has an interesting, almost folklorish history. The story goes that a fire was started in a lower Manhattan bank in order to cover-up a burglary in the early 20th century. Fire fighters found an odd tool with a claw-like end among the rubble and, upon investigation, it was determined that the tool was used by the burglars to break into the bank. Fire fighters had thought that if the tool was good enough to break into a bank, it was good enough for them. And so the ‘claw tool’ became the primary forcible entry tool used by the FDNY. Many believe that this was the first tool used specifically for forcible entry.
During Chief Halligan’s time at FDNY, numerous injuries resulted when an axe struck the rounded bow on the hook end of the tool. It would tend to slide quickly to the side and hit the fire fighter’s arm or fingers. FDNY had also started using the ‘Kelly Tool’, designed by Captain John F Kelly of FDNY Hook and Ladder Company 163, for opening doors and other barriers. This tool wasn’t the answer to their needs, which then led to Chief Halligan designing the tool that has carried his name ever since.
The Halligan tool was introduced to the fire fighting world in the March 1948 edition of ‘Fire Engineering’ magazine. An excerpt from this feature reads: “A new, lightweight forcible entry tool has been designed by Chief Hugh. A Halligan of the New York Fire Department, which possess new and original features. It is said to combine attributes of the utilitarian standard claw tool and the efficient Kelly (sic) tool as well as certain advantage of the ubiquitous pick, or hook and flat head axe.”
The city of Boston was the first to purchase and use the Halligan tool. However, unfortunately because of a conflict with New York City laws, the FDNY couldn’t purchase the tool until the legal issues had been resolved; a familiar concept which we still live with today. Numerous other fire departments did, however, buy the tool directly from Chief Halligan, some even using their own money.
Since those heady days the tool has undergone many modifications, and even some name changes. The basic design has however not changed radically and is still probably the favourite tool of fire fighters.
Tool design
Essentially, the Halligan is a steel rod that with a steel fork on one end and a wedge and tapered pick on the other end. It generally weighs around five kilograms and has a length of 76cm. While the original (and preferred) Halligan tools are a one-piece steel rod, some manufacturers have secured the ends on by means of pins sunk into the main shaft using drive pins.
They have also over the years adapted the length of the shaft in both directions (either shorter or longer). Both have specific advantages and disadvantages. A shorter Halligan might not give you the leverage while a longer one will impede working in confined spaces.
For me the ideal Halligan should be a one-piece forged steel construction with a tapered fork bevelled to act as a fulcrum for projecting greater force and a wedge with a slight downward curve. I also like the Halligan with a rough surface on the rod which increases grip. If you don’t have this feature, go down to your local sports store and see if you can find the type of grip cover used on cricket bat handles and wrap that around the bar.
A further neat trick is to paint marks on both the wedge and fork which indicate the depth of the tool’s penetration into the door.
Many fire departments have gone for cheaper alternatives with a straight wedge and a non-tapered thick fork, which makes it difficult to penetrate the opening between the door and its frame. Take care when deciding which tool to buy for your department. Small things like the width and angle of the wedge and fork could mean the difference between a quick entry into a structure and lives being saved or lost.
The greatest thing about the Halligan is that it is always ready to go. There are no working parts; it doesn’t need fuel, doesn’t have an engine and no batteries are required. It also doesn’t need to be set-up beforehand. How well it will works depends on the operator and his/her knowledge of the tool and the situation in which it will be used.
Forcible entry
Forcible entry is the same as any fire ground tactic; you need to size-up the situation beforehand and decide on the right tactics and the appropriate tools for the job. Knowing your response area is where it starts. If you are responding to a commercial occupancy, the forcible entry challenges will be somewhat different to those you will encounter at a residential occupancy. This will dictate which tools come off the truck first.
Don’t overburden your crew with too many forcible entry tools. Remember, someone needs to carry them from the fire truck to the staging area and then put them into action without hurting themselves. Although we face more and more security barriers, especially in residential occupancies, they can mostly be addressed with the same tools that we have been using all these years. More on this later.
Check out the types of doors you may encounter and decide which additional tools you may need. Don’t stop training. Forcible entry can’t be learnt once and then not exercised until the skills are needed on the fire ground. You need to constantly exercise. Find out if any buildings are due to be demolished anywhere close to your station area. Move in before the demolition and go to work on the doors, windows and any other structures that could keep you in practice. Also be alert while doing your daily job. I once read a report of a paramedic who noticed a particular lock assembly at a liquor store while on an EMS call. He described the lock to his colleagues who approached a local security firm for help. They had in fact installed a number of these devices in businesses in the area and although it looked intimidating due to the fact that it had bars running into the locking mechanism it was actually quite simple to open by using a ‘through-the-lock’ technique.
Always remember that when you have to force open a door or other opening, to try and do so with minimum damage. You might be feeling very proud at having cut open all the roller doors of a small business but appreciate that someone has to pay for it. It also needs to be secured after the incident and this might be difficult depending on the amount of damage you have done. Once the opening has been created, you need to ensure that the access route is sustainable. Use a ceiling hook to keep the roller-shutter door open. You might need to but a smoke extractor near the top of the door you have just forced open. Ensure that your opening is going to allow you the maximum opportunity to do this. Every fire fighter should carry two devices that are able to keep doors open. These could be wedges or a device that fits over hinges forcing them open. The reason you need two devices are that in some cases the area might be too congested for hinges, with people continuously knocking them out of place or the doors might not have hinges necessitating the need for wedges.
Consider including a hydraulic forcible entry tool in your arsenal. It might be relatively simple for most forcible entry teams to open one or two doors with their standard irons but when faced with multiple doors in a hot, smoke-filled environment, it could lead to exhaustion and severely compromise the team’s safety.
Before starting on a door, do a thorough assessment of its construction. How is the door frame and adjoining wall constructed? Does it swing away from or towards the forcible entry team? How is the lock constructed and how complicated is it to defeat. Would a ‘through the lock’ technique not be the best option?
When dealing with commercial garage doors, security gates and window bars, the tool of choice will be a rotary saw. In South Africa with our high security awareness, it is vital that a rotary saw with the right choice of blade be included on each responding unit. I recall some years back when a fire department responded to a fire in a mattress factory, which had a number of commercial garage doors, without a rotary saw. They wasted precious time trying to bash down the door with sledge hammers while one good rotary saw would have saved the lives lost in that fire.
The neatest Halligan tool or best other tool means nothing if the person handling it doesn’t know when and where to use it. Don’t lose sight of the big picture; if the door is hot, chances are there is a fire on the other side. Will it be safe to knock it down? What other options exist? If you have access to a thermal imaging camera it could be of great value in helping you make the correct decision.
The sector officer must continuously evaluate the forcible entry effort and make the decision to change tactics if there is no progress. This is sometimes difficult as the team will feel that they have made significant progress and ‘are almost there’ and will try to finish the job. You might have to make a hard call and follow it through.
The officer must communicate any delays in achieving their objective to the incident commander. The entire plan of attack might be based on how quick the fire suppression team can gain entry into a particular part of a structure. Any lengthy delays might necessitate the incident commander to change the plan and the sooner this is communicated, the sooner the plan can be changed.
So, where should we attempt our entry? The best advise here is for fire crews to use the same entrance as that used by the normal occupants to enter. Other doors might be bolted and secured for security reasons and cause all kinds of problems in trying to get through. Occupants might have changed the layout of rooms and decided not to use certain doors anymore and placed obstacles like shelving or furniture in front of them.
Forcible exit
Once entry is gained into a structure and the attack teams start ‘chasing the fire’, they might move a considerable distance into the structure and with every step forward move away from their escape route. When things go south, it might be necessary to exit the building through the closest possible exit. If the entire structure is barred up this could become a very difficult and possibly fatal exercise. Some solutions would be for the nozzle team to carry a Halligan tool and some smaller tools with them or for a truck company crew to move along the outside of the building in tandem with the nozzle team and create a series of openings close to the team at certain strategic places. I know this goes against my earlier observation of causing the minimum damage but if the incident requires such actions eg the possibility of saving lives, it is acceptable.
A balanced fire attack means that the supporting units ie truck company, should not sit idly by and wait for a panic alarm before attempting a search and rescue. They should proactively support the interior nozzle crew by creating openings, placing ladders and ventilating the structure to enable a safer interior working environment.
Training
Due to the high cost of doors and windows many fire fighters in this country get very little practice in actually forcing locks or breaking doors and windows. A visit to the United States Air Force Fire Academy in 1995 exposed me to a large variety of forcible entry props, which were essentially doors and windows built on wheeled carts that could be moved into position for any range of exercises. Each prop had a space where a sacrificial lock, glass or wood could be connected and be used over and over. Those ideas haven’t yet blown across the ocean to us but I am hoping that someone somewhere will look into this in the near future.
Using the Halligan
By combining the Halligan tool with a flathead axe and sledgehammer, you will have a versatile tool selection that will get you past most normal forcible entry challenges. The axe can cut through laminated wood and laminated safety glass and can also be a powerful chisel for cutting through objects when it is being driven by a sledgehammer. You can also use the axe blade to increase the gap between the doorframe and the door allowing easier insertion of the Halligan. It can also be used to widen the gap to allow for a rotary saw to freely cut the lock mechanism.
After an opening has been created, the axe blade can be used as a wedge to increase the fulcrum for the Halligan to force the lock open. By placing the axe head flat against the door or gate close to the opening, the Halligan’s wedge can then be inserted into the opening and push back onto the axe head to increase its leverage. The axe blade can also provide a greater surface against which the Halligan tool can push back on and prevent wedge or spike from penetrating a wood or other thinly covered door.
Using a sledgehammer as a striking tool is much more effective than the head of an axe and is safer. Inward opening doors can also be easily knocked off its hinges with a sledgehammer. You can also use your sledgehammer to knock out masonry if the other openings create too much of an entry problem.
The primary function of the Halligan is forcing a door but it has plenty of other uses. When you become proficient with the Halligan, you’ll discover many other ways to use it and wouldn’t want to be without it when you enter a fire involved structure.
In closing
For me, the effectiveness of a fire service can be gauged by how its engine compartments (lockers) are configured. It indicates how the department thinks operationally. If your flathead axe and Halligan tools are stored in separate compartments, you are not taking forcible entry seriously. Placing your Halligan, flathead axe and sledgehammer in the same locker, close to the crew cab or even in the crew cab, will let you get to the front door quicker and then allow you to get working faster. Think operationally.