The following information should provide you with a basic how and why of extricating victims from vehicle accidents.
You probably have heard of the
Jaws of Life. This tool uses anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000
Pounds per Square Inch (PSI) to spread apart metal. This tool is most commonly used to
remove the doors from a vehicle. However it can be beneficial to use to crush and pulling or pushing the dash area forward.
Another tool that compliments the jaws work is the cutters. Cutters can use 30,000 to 60,000 psi. Cutters do as their name suggests, cut. Most often the cutters are used to cut the posts, named by alpha characters a,b,c..., which holds the roof up. There are also hydraulic tools which combine cutters and the Jaws into one versatile tool.
The third tool is the ram. The ram's force is used to spread. This is in similar fashion to the Jaws but with a much straighter and wider spread. Often the ram is used to push the dash area away from the front passenger compartment of the vehicle.
You may be wondering what it takes to operate these tools. A hydraulic power unit of course.
This operates using a gas engine while there are electric models also available. This unit allows us to hook up two tools at the same time and operate them simultaneously. The hydraulic fluid used is nontoxic mineral oil.
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Before any extrication is done on a vehicle, it should be
stabilized (top left). Stabilization is usually achieved by using a box cribbing technique as demonstrated in the picture. Other means of stabilization may be consist of chains or tow trucks. Also glass may be removed before any extrication begins. This is accomplished by using a glass punch
(top right and middle), or for laminated glass such as the windshield, a glass saw works well
(bottom).
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New on Rescue 2 and Rescue 6 are AirShore Stabilization Struts. These can often replace cribbing. | |
We would like to acknowledge the Boles Fire Protection District for their contribution of this article.
