Jaws Of Life Essay

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In the early 1960s the need arose for a tool that could cut and injured driver out of a vehicle. The tool had to be strong, versatile, and able to work quickly and safely. George Hurst the father of the “the hurst tool” later to be given the nickname of T”he Jaws of life” was watching a stock car speed way race when he observed a crash which left the driver trapped inside of his vehicle for more than an hour. The standard to extricate a victim from a crash at that time was to use a circular saw which produced dangerous sparks, was slow to cut, and very noisy. Secondly the other option was to try and pry the doors open using a crow bar or a halogen bar which sometimes caused more harm than good and was very labor intensive. So George Hurst came up with the idea of the “Jaws of Life” and spend the next …show more content…

It became much lighter easier to maneuver over the years. Mike brick invented a tool that had the ability to spread, cut, push, and retract. This tool became known as the Phoenix Rescue Tool. The tools were operated under the power of hydraulic pumps integrated into small gasoline engines with hoses that connect the pump to the tool. The use of hydraulic power was able to offer safe yet practical and extreme strength. Spreaders can have a force of over 100,000 lbs of force and cutters can exert over 80,000 lbs. Now these hydraulic tools do not have to have a hydraulic pump and engine which can be cumbersome to carry and long hydraulic hoses that can get tangled. They can be operated by foot or hand pumps, and even rechargeable batteries without diminishing the effectiveness of the tool by reducing the power. They can be used not only to extricate victims from tangled vehicles, they are now utilized in almost every aspect of the fire services from being able to stabilize vehicles to being used in USAR operations and even being able to force entry into a

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