FORCING A CAR DOOR WITH NOTHING BUT A HALLIGAN & STUBBORNNESS!

BY WESLEY LIVINGSTON

I had often wondered if it were possible to gain access through a jammed vehicle door using just a Halligan. I am of the school that you can do anything with a Halligan, except spray water.

I’m going to explain to you my method of gaining entry through displacing the door-latch striker / Nader pin.

I am well aware that hydraulic tools make light-work of this.

But…..“what-if?”

Preparation: Wear safety glasses and gloves.

Step 1: Establish the gap.

I found this to be an ongoing process. I had to continually make my gap larger, as you can see by the picture.

A larger gap will give you better access to the Nader pin. I used a combination of the adz and fork for maximum gapping penetration.  

Step 2: Removing the Nader Pin.

Once you’ve established a large enough gap, look for the Nader pin and see if you can get a bite on it with your forks.

Once you have a decent bite, maneuver the Halligan in an up- and-down motion. Doing this will retard the sheet metal around the Nader pin and eventually causing the sheet metal to weaken and fail, thus releasing the latch-mechanism of the jammed door.

I also utilized a forward prying motion to pull on the sheet metal further weakening it. Once I got a good bite on the Nader pin, it took me probably 5-7 minutes to have the door open.  

You can see how the twisting and prying made displacement possible.

I’m sure there are more experienced firefighters that can find a way to make this more efficient. This is just my experience.

So feel free to share your own technique or techniques for accomplishing this using just a Halligan bar!  

This photo shows were the Nader pin once lived on the B-Post.