FVCC Fire Rescue
FORCIBLE ENTRY
PART B
 Doors
 Size-up
Try before you pry
 FD key box

Try Before You Pry!
If you don’t, make sure you lock the door
after you force the door!!
FORCING OR OPENING
Breaking door glass
Choose appropriate
tool


Stand windward side

Strike top of pane
Hands above point
of impact


Clean out frame

Reach inside

Operate lock

Open door
FORCING OR OPENING

Inward swing door – two firefighters
Place fork of Halligan-type bar just above or below lock
 Angle tool slightly up or down
 Strike tool with flat-head axe
 Drive fork past interior door jamb
 Move fork to prevent penetrating interior door jamb
 Exert pressure toward door, forcing it open

Strike!
Strike!
Strike!
Single Firefighter Inward Opening Door
FORCING OR OPENING

Outward swinging door: Adze End method
Place adze of Halligan-type bar just above or below lock
 Strike adze using flat head axe, driving it between door and jamb
 Pry down and outward with fork end

FORCING OR OPENING

Double swing doors

Secured by mortise lock
 Remove molding between doors
 Insert adze between doors
 Push down and outward until bolt clears keeper
FORCING OR OPENING

Doors with drop bars (try one of the following):
Insert small narrow tool between doors and lift bar out of
stirrup.
 Cut triangular hole below bar. Reach in and push bar out of
stirrup.
 Insert blade of rotary saw between jamb door or between
doors and cut bar.

FORCING OR OPENING

Tempered plate glass
door
Break glass with pick of
pick-head axe
 Strike bottom corner
 Clear remaining glass
from door
 Last resort for access

FORCING OR OPENING

Overhead door

Residential
 Break panel or window
 Reach in and unlock the locking mechanism
 Secure door to prevent closing
 If automatic opener:
• Hold door in closed position
• Break out panel near mechanism
• Reach in with tool to grab release cord and pull
FORCING OR OPENING

Commercial




Manually operated
Chain operated
Electrically powered
To force entry:
Cut or force the locks
 Attack the locks
 Cut through the gate by cutting a large inverted V-shaped
cut in gate with power saw which allows slats to be pulled
toward center and removed

FORCING OR OPENING
 Windows
 Double hung/checkrail windows
Insert blade of axe or prying tool
under center of bottom sash
 Pry upward forcing screws out of
lock
 Open window

(1) Typical replacementstyle energy-efficient
window (EEW): frame
assembly with two
moveable sashes. This
window has double-pane,
polycarbonate glazing,
and tilt-in sashes.
(Photos 1-6 by Linda
Andersen.)
(7) After removing the screen,
pry up the bottom sash; the
screws will strip from the
sash. (Photos 7-11 by
author.)
(8) No. 6 screws hold the
locking mechanism in place.
(9) A sharp, downward
impact will cause the
ventilation latches to fail.
(10) Pulling down both
sashes will give you access
to the slides that will release
the top of the sash from the
frame and enable you to tilt
them into the structure.
11) The window is almost
fully opened.
FORCING OR OPENING

Hinged/casement windows
Break lowest pane of glass and
clean out
 Force or cut screen
 Reach in and upward to unlock
 Operate crank or levers at bottom
 Completely remove screen and
enter

FORCING OR OPENING
 Projected/factory windows: best
method is to seek another entry point.
 Awning and jalousie windows: select
another entry point
FORCING OR OPENING
 High security windows
 Lexan (try one of the following
methods)



Cut using rotary saw with carbide tip
Discharge a carbon dioxide fire
extinguisher on window, then strike
with pick of axe
Barred or screened windows (try one
of the following methods)



Shear off bolt heads, if visible with axe,
striking axe with Halligan bar.
Cut bar using rotary saw with metal
blade
Cut bar using oxyacetylene torch
FORCING OR OPENING

Horizontal sliding
Insert blade of axe or prying tool at the side center of the moving
sash.
 Pry towards sash forcing screws out of lock.
 Open window.


Fixed
Break glass or other glazing if possible
 Most often better to use another entry point

FORCING OR OPENING
 Floors
 Wood floors
Determine location for hole.
 Sound for floor joists
 Cut one side of the finished flooring, then the other side by
using angle cuts.
 Remove flooring or floor covering with the pick of axe.
 Cut sub-floor using the same technique
 Circular saws, saber saws and chain saws can also be used.

FORCING OR OPENING

Concrete/reinforced concrete floors



Compressed air or electric jackhammers slow, but best means for rescue.
Portable power saws with concrete cutting blade are available.
Special purpose nozzles designed to penetrate masonry and some
concrete
FORCING OR OPENING
 Vertical barriers
 Plaster or gypsum partition walls
Select location
 Check for electric plugs and switches
 Select forcible entry tools
 Locate studs by sounding
 Cut along studs (three bays wide)
 Remove center stud to enlarge opening
 Gain access

FORCING OR OPENING

Brick or concrete walls

Battering ram




Made of iron
Jagged end used for breaking brick or
stone
Rounded end used for walls and doors
Power tools


Air chisels, hydraulic spreaders and
rotary saws
Cut diamond or triangular shaped hole
large enough to pass through
• Select metal cutting power saw
• Locate utilities
• Cut in area away from utilities
• Cut along studs, then fold back. If no
stud, cut triangle, folding at bottom.
DOOR & WINDOW LOCKING DEVICES
 Construction features
 Mortise lock
Latch mechanism
 Opening device (doorknob,
lever, etc)
 Dead-bolt feature for added
security

DOOR & WINDOW LOCKING DEVICES

Bored (cylindrical) lock
Hole bored in the face of the door
for locking mechanism
 Hole bored in edge of door to
receive latch or bolt
 Key-in-knob lock is one type of
bored lock
 Key way in outside knob
 Inside knob may contain key way
or button

DOOR & WINDOW LOCKING DEVICES

Rim lock
Surface mounted
 Used as an add on lock
 Outside cylinder recessed into door
 Latch mechanism fastened to inside of
door
 Strike is mounted to door frame

DOOR & WINDOW LOCKING DEVICES

Padlock
Portable or detachable
 Regular padlocks
 Shackles of ¼ inch or less
 Not case-hardened
 Heavy duty
 Toe and heel locking
 Both ends of shackle are locked
 Both sides of shackle must be
cut
