SOP Manual - Cleveland Fire Department

Cleveland Fire Department
Operations Manual
Tools
A. Hand tools
The hand tools most useful for forcible entries are the halligan tool, sledge, and lock pullers such
as the K tool and the flathead axe.
For ventilation work, the pickhead axe, pike pole, and halligan tool are usually preferred.
All these tools can also be used in checking for fire extension and in overhaul.
B. Power Tools
Power tools help in Ladder/Truck Company operations. The tools can be powered by electricity,
gasoline engines, air, or hydraulic pressure. They can ease and speed up the work of the
Ladder/Truck Company.
Power tools cannot replace hand tools, but they do have a place in Ladder/Truck Company
operations.
C. Training
Ladder/Truck crews must be thoroughly familiar with the tools of their trade. This means that they
must be trained in the use of hand and power tools as well as in the handling of ladders. Most
Ladder/Truck Companies can find places in their territory where they can raise ground ladders,
position the aerial unit for rescue or elevated stream operations, and carry out their training
movements.
D. Tool Assignments
The Ladder/Truck Officer shall assign personnel to particular tools based on the locations of the
tools on the Ladder/Truck and positions taken by firefighters.
Assignment of a crewmember to a particular Ladder/Truck position shall then include
responsibility for the tools near that position. The firefighter shall take these tools into the
building, either immediately upon arrival or after performing necessary outside duties.
Firefighters shall be assigned Ladder/Truck positions and tools when their shift assumes duty.
One member of the Ladder/Truck Company is assigned to the “bar” or “irons” and works with
Engine Company personnel upon arrival at the fire. This firefighter is equipped with halligan tool,
a flathead axe, self-contained breathing apparatus, and the usual running gear. This crew member
forces entrance for the Engine crew, ventilates the fire floor around them, and searches for victims
in the fire area and -- where the situation warrants it -- above the fire.
Note that the “bar” or “irons” person belongs to a Ladder/Truck, rather than an Engine Company.
If transferred to an Engine Company, this firefighter would soon be advancing hose lines, and not
performing required Ladder/Truck duties.
Effective: June 1, 1997 Revised: 5/14/2009 Page | 198
Approved by: Chief Chuck Atchley