Halligan bar
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A Halligan bar (also called a Halligan tool or simply Halligan) is a special tool commonly used in the fire and rescue service. It was designed by and named after Hugh Halligan, a First Deputy Fire Commissioner in the New York City Fire Department. The Halligan is a multipurpose prying tool consisting of a claw (or fork), a blade (or adze), and a pick, which is especially useful in quickly breaking through many types of locked doors. The adze or fork end of the tool can be used to break in through an outward swinging door by forcing the tool between the door and doorjamb and prying the two apart. Along with a K-tool and the adze or fork end a lock can easily be pulled. There are many other uses of the Halligan tool, including vehicle rescue and opening of walls.
A Halligan bar and an axe can be joined together to form what is known as a married set, or set of irons.
References
- Essentials of Fire Fighting; Hall, Richard and Adams, Barbara, Eds.; 4th Ed., 1998: Board of Regents, Oklahoma State University. ISBN 089739149-9
- Halligan Bar Review by Sean Parnell (http://www.seanparnell.com/Bar%20Reviews/Halligan%27s/Halligan%27s.htm)
Halligan Bar is a bar in Chicago, Illinois which is named after the tool, as a pun.