A couple weeks ago Andrew Brassard shared a prop idea that he made. Essentially, it is a maze that firefighters have to maneuver so a ball gets from the starting point to the end. Brass made his out of steel and Grant Light put one together with wood. I took the opportunity to put hand tools, a torch, and a welder in the hands of some firefighters.
The prop didn’t take long to make and was cheap to build since we used scrap steel.
Here are the rules I gave to the crews:
- Use every lifting tool on your engine at least once. For us it included: pry bars, wedges, high-lift jack, bottle jack, airbags, spreaders, portapower.
- No touching the prop with your hands
- No banging the prop with a tool to get the ball to move
- No blowing on the ball to get it to move (late rule add, but firefighters are innovative)
- If you lift an inch, you crib an inch
The crews have been working around 40 minutes to move the ball through the maze. Some of the observations and teaching points from the training include:
- Communications between the crew is essential. Sometimes two lifts at nearly simultaneous times were needed to prevent the ball from becoming trapped.
- Teamwork is important.
- The boss needs to have a vision for where the ball needs to go. Multiple ideas may work, but which one is fastest and safest?
- Understand where your equipment is located on the rig and how it works. The spreaders may be fast, but the portapower or bottle jack may be better for precision lifts.
Training
2022 Ford Maverick: Vehicle-Specific Body Structure
The 2022 Ford Maverick loaned to the Hurst folks was the star of the extrication show at FDIC. The Maverick was no match for the Hurst tools and

Ford Maverick
The 2022 Ford Maverick loaned to the Hurst folks was the star of the extrication show at FDIC. The Maverick was no match for the Hurst tools and the man that makes these vehicles available, Dennis Lark, was pleased with the destruction. The Maverick is available as an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicle and an FHEV (Full Hybrid Electric Vehicle). Below is an image from Ford’s 2022 Maverick Hybrid Emergency Response Guide.
If you notice, the Hybrid battery pack is on the passenger (RHS) of the vehicle. If you take a look at the image below, you can see the rocker on the RHS is reinforced to protect the battery pack. You can find more information about the different steels used in the rockers and floor pan here.
A-Pillar (Hurst Booth FDIC 2022)
B-Pillar (Hurst Booth FDIC 2022)
More Pictures
Training
Object on a Vehicle

An object on a Vehicle
A simple training scenario that only requires a vehicle (that you do not need to cut, yet) and an object to lift. Great objects include large tree sections, utility poles, and concrete pipes. These objects can be easily found in most cities, maybe even in your Department of Public Works yard.
Take a look at the scenario that Connecticut Custom Fire Training LLC. put together a month ago at one of their training classes.
Training
York County Vehicle Technician Class 2021

York County Vehicle Technician Class 2021
Pictures (by John E. Burruss)