![]() ![]() The blades can spread or cut with a force of several tons or kilonewtons with the tips of the blades spreading up to a meter. Repeating this process allows a rescuer to quickly open a gap wide enough to pull free a trapped victim. The device is engaged in reverse and the blades close, cutting through metal. Once the seam has been spread, the now-open blades can be repositioned around the metal. The hydraulic pump, attached to the tool or as a separate unit, powers a piston that pushes the blades apart with great force and spreads the seam. In operation, the tips of the spreader-cutter's blades are wedged into a seam or gap-for example, around a vehicle door-and the device engaged. While a cutter or spreader tool is designed for a particular application, a combination tool, or combi-tool as popularly referred to by the fire department, is also available, which combines the cutting and spreading functions of separate tools into a single tool. ![]() ![]() Spreaders may also be used to "pop" vehicle doors from their hinges. The tip of the tool can be inserted into a narrow gap between two vehicle panels (such as between two doors, or between a door and a fender)-when the tool is operated. Cutter blades are replaceable, and blade development progresses as vehicle technology progresses in order to be able to cope with the new car protection technology.Ī spreader is a hydraulic tool that is designed with two arms that come together in a narrow tip, and that uses hydraulic pressure to separate or spread the arms. Sometimes specified as to their capacity to cut a solid circular steel bar, these are most commonly used to cut through a vehicle's structure in an extraction operation. The cutter is a pair of hydraulically powered shears that is designed to cut through metal. īrick later developed a single rescue tool that combines the functions (push, pull, cut and spread) of previous rescue tools, and patented it the design is currently implemented as the Phoenix Rescue tool. The name "jaws of life" is, however, used colloquially to describe other hydraulic rescue tools. Mike Brick coined the phrase "Jaws of Life" after he observed people saying that their new device "snatched people from the jaws of death", then used as a registered brand name for Hurst products. It takes about two minutes to take the roof off a car. When an occupant is trapped the tool is used to pry or cut the car to remove the occupant. The hydraulic spreader was originally developed in 1972 by Tim Smith and Mike Brick, who later developed a cutter and a hydraulic ram. Zumro ResQtec was interested in developing these tools for use in auto racing, with ResQtec targeting the European market and Hurst targeting the American market. ![]() Hurst Performance began to export parts to a European company, Zumro ResQtec, to avoid import duty. In comparison, hydraulic spreader-cutters are quieter, faster, stronger, and more versatile: they can cut, open, and even lift a vehicle. Alternatively, rescuers could try to pry open the vehicle doors with a crowbar or Halligan bar, but this could compromise the stability of the vehicle, or injure the victims further. Saws can create sparks, which could start a fire, create loud sounds, stress the victim(s), and often cut slowly. Previously rescuers often used circular saws for vehicle extrication, but these suffered from several drawbacks. The Hurst Rescue Tool was invented by George Hurst, circa 1961, after he viewed a stock car race accident in which it took workers over an hour to remove an injured driver from his car. A hydraulic spreader in use, seen here widening a window on the door of a Volkswagen Golf Mk2 to allow fire crews access into the vehicle ![]()
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