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Firefighter Matt Scallan from Escambia County Engine 19 sent in this photo. He discovered this confusing situation during a prefire plan. Check out the supplemental page for more details.

Normally we wouldn’t post two similar ideas so close together, but this one seemed appropriate. This “two section” tool sleeve was sent in by Firefighter Chris Torres from Plano Fire Department. He explained that Lieutenant Stan Lawing from 4 Truck gave him this idea. As you can tell, it is a piece of three inch hose folded over and held together by two zip ties. The two different sections allow the tools to stay a little more organized in your pocket.

Lt. Tim Biermann from Baltimore City Rescue 1 sent in this great idea to keep your pockets organized and protected. Check out the What’s in your Pocket’s section for more details. It’s simple and effective.

Firefighter Chad Cox from Wichita Fire Dept sent in this video of yet another forcible entry option for a door with a panic bar. This method may appear to be time consuming, and may not be everyone’s first choice, but it is another option. It might be a useful backup plan.

The tribe has spoken! Ok, Ok, we’ll start a post about the Hydra-Ram. We’ll do a quick intro to the tool, and move all the comments over from the other posts. This will make it easier to reference to the post and comments later.

The Hydra-Ram is a hydraulic forcible entry tool capable of exerting 10,000 lbs. of force. The Hydra-Ram was originally designed for forcing inward swinging metal doors, but we’re sure you all have other creative uses for it. There are two different models; one opens 4 inches the other opens 6 inches. The four inch model should achieve full extension with 7-8 pumps. Knowing the number of pumps is important, because it allows ensuring the unit is functioning properly. Each pump should open the jaws of the tool ¾ inches. It’s also good to know that the tool requires 138 pounds of pressure at the handle when forcing the full 10,000 pounds on the jaws. So just because the handle feels a little tough to push does not mean the tool is not functioning properly. We advocate checking the tool frequently, and actually placing it under a load while checking it out to ensure proper function.

Be sure to read the second comment from Chris- Concord Engine 1. He did a bit of research and has an amazing amount of info directly from the manufacturer. A special thanks goes out to Chris for finding and sharing this great bit of info!