I am know I am dragging this post out from the past but I have been away for awhile.
One thing you can do to improve the effectiveness of a halligan is to wrap the handle with Pcord space each wrap out about an 1.5 to 2" apart. Then cover that with hockey tape. And all the talk about the pinned halligan heads is correct I found one of our pins missing in one of ours last year.
I am a career firefighter/paramedic, ranked engineer frequently assigned to our truck(we rotate equipment assignments)
good luck , and dont forget to train with it some
kary
For sizing up doors for forcible entry I go down the list of
Immediate Area - can I force entry through something else(small window , etc
Door - do I attack the door directly
Lock - should I directly attack the door
Hinges - should I attach the hinges.