In fire service, which tool is primarily used for breaching and prying?

The Halligan is primarily designed for breaching and prying, making it an essential tool in firefighting and rescue operations. Its unique design combines a pick, a fork, and a blade, allowing firefighters to effectively gain access to buildings, lift doors, and perform various forcible entry tasks. The prying end is particularly useful for opening locked or barred doors and breaking through barriers, which is often necessary during emergency situations to save lives and protect property.

While pry bars, chainsaws, and crowbars serve their specific purposes, they do not possess the versatile combination of features found in a Halligan. For instance, pry bars are effective at prying but lack the other necessary tools that the Halligan includes for a range of forcible entry tasks, while chainsaws are more suited for cutting through materials like wood or metal rather than breaching and prying. Crowbars can also pry but are not typically designed for the same multifaceted applications that the Halligan is specifically built to handle in the fire service. Thus, the Halligan stands out as the most effective tool for breaching and prying in emergency situations.