Firefighters Train for Emergency Entry

Story and Photos by Hannah Falcon

(Photo: firefighter Sydney Sundell)

In an emergency a firefighter must do whatever it takes to reach a person in crisis and get them out safely. Sometimes that includes breaking through a door using a skill they call forcible entry.

Spring Fire Department firefighters Matthew Lee and Sydney Sundell demonstrated how they train on forcible entry while serving on C shift at Station 76.. In less than a minute, Spring firefighters can break through a door prop built to be far more difficult than any door they might encounter while responding to an emergency call. The door prop they practice on has two doors, an outward swinging door and an inward swinging door.

“Forcible entry, one-man or two-man, is used to gain entry or create regress in a structure,” firefighter Steven Villarreal explained.

Forcible entry uses many different techniques depending on the type of door and the firefighter’s skill level. It may be a one-man or two-man operation and the techniques used vary between methods. One thing that stays the same between all techniques is the tools used.

(Photo: firefighters Sydney Sundell and Matthew Lee)

“A firefighter will use tools off the truck, a flathead axe and a halligan bar, which we’ve combined into a kit called the irons with a wedge attached to it,” Villarreal said. “With those three tools, he can do one of many maneuvers to do the three things that grant entry into the door which is gap the door, set the tool and force the door.”

In a one man operation, the firefighter would use both the flathead axe and the halligan bar together, but in a two-man operation each firefighter gets one of the tools and they force the door together.

(Photo: cadet firefighter Matthew Lee)

Forcible entry becomes necessary when there is a fire that they cannot get to any other way. It is more commonly used when firefighters are responding to a medical call. Due to frequent training, Spring firefighters are able to gain entry into a house in seconds when necessary.

“Entry sometimes is necessary for a medical call or a wellness check if we’re called and somebody can’t get up and we can’t get to the patient,” Villarreal said.

(Photo: firefighter Matthew Lee successfully opens the door)

Hannah Falcon is a sophomore Communication major at Texas A&M University. A Staff Writer and Life & Arts Editor for the Texas A&M Battalion, Falcon is spending the summer as a volunteer writer for Spring Fire Community News.