Axe Firefighter Hand Placement (conventional forcible entry)

A quick tip for the axe firefighter during conventional forcible entry. It’s natural to hold your top hand high when swinging the axe, it gives us control and accuracy. Just be careful to not place your hand right under the head of the axe, because if you miss your target (i.e. the halligan bar), you will crush your fingers… and I’ve seen it happen a few times unfortunately. Instead, place you top hand about 1 hand width down, so if you do miss, the shaft of the axe will take the impact. Keep your bottom low (making a bigger leaver) to increase force of your swing. Lastly, swing the axe, don’t push it. I’ll make a video to elaborate on why having a good swing will increase force.

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