Forcible Entry Wins are in the Details

SAMUEL HITTLE is a Captain with Wichita Fire. He is an FDIC, Traditions Training, and Wichita HoT Instructor, FDIC Lecturer, contributing author for Fire Engineering, Urban Firefighter, and Fire Rescue, Fire Nuggets, and FiRescue Interactive publications, a Fire Engineering Google Hangout Panel Member, is a two time Firehouse Magazine Heroism Award recipient (2012 and 2015), Kansas State Fire Marshall Tom McGaughey Award Recipient, Wichita Fire Department Firefighter of the Year, Wichita Fire Truck Company

Why are some forcible entry attempts efficient while others embarrassing? The answer is in the details. Setting forks, running a saw, and merely striking are not enough to ensure a win. It takes more than that. Success requires knowledge of the system being defeated, familiarity with tool potential, and understanding basic physics concepts (levers, force multipliers, torque, impulse, inertia, vectors). This class will demonstrate non-evasive and evasive methods for windows, residential and commercial doors, overhead doors, hinges, padlocks, magnetic locks, high-density commercial systems, window bars, glass block, shearing, boarded openings, and more. Techniques for the above mentioned will be shown in varying circumstances they are encountered including hand tools only, saw capabilities, single firefighter, or as a company. Numerical evidence and video will justify why details like body positioning, tool placement and alignment, striking techniques, and exploiting system flaws matter.