Door Breaching Equipment for Frontline Firefighting and Rescue Work

SCDF firefighters typically carry, amongst other tools and equipment, a conventional halligan tool and a battering ram for their firefighting and rescue operations. They can weigh as much as 29kg in all and the heavy load can degrade operational efficiency, particularly when the firefighters need to mount multiple staircases with the heavy equipment, in order to reach the rescue site.

Our Community Partner
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Ang Mo Kio Fire Station

Our Faculty Members
Associate Professor Patrick Chua, Engineering Cluster

Challenges

• To innovate on existing door breaching equipment to make them more compact and lighter in weight
• To improve and ease a firefighter’s entry into a building during operations

Key Innovation

• A halligan tool, modified with a chisel and integrated with an attached hammer, can be extended up to 80cm for maximum prying leverage, particularly in tight spaces.
• A hollow battering ram, made of stainless steel or PE-UHMW material, which has a detachable cap, allows the battering ram’s interior to be filled up with water quickly to increase its overall mass by 5kg.

The total combined weight for both items is 18kg, which is 63% of the weight of conventional halligan tool and battering ram, currently used by SCDF.