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September 2007

Extrication Tools: Balancing Weight And Power

By David A. Smith

With nearly 250 million vehicles on U.S. roads these days, it’s inevitable that some of them will crash.

When they do – and they did, 6 million times in 2005, according to federal statistics – some occupants won’t be able to get out of those vehicles on their own.

Until 1972, hand tools were about the only tools emergency crews had at their disposal to free trapped victims. Enter George Hurst, who developed the first “Jaws of Life” rescue tool, a spreader designed to free race drivers from the jaws of death – the wreckage of their vehicles.

“Essentially, [George Hurst] asked the question: ‘Why don’t we remove the vehicle from the patient, rather than the other way around?’” said Bill Simmons, vice president of sales and marketing with Hurst Jaws of Life in Shelby, N.C. “The very first tool was designed to spread metal. Then almost immediately after, there were cutting attachments added to the tool.”

Today, roughly a dozen companies make extrication tools – the cutters, spreaders, rams, power units and other specialty products, such as lifting bags, which are invaluable to rescue crews. Those tools make up the systems that crews now use for everything from extricating victims from vehicles to confined-space rescues or freeing victims from building collapses.

Hurst’s invention not only created a market where one had previously not existed, it was a revolutionary development for the fire service. The “Jaws of Life,” helped rescue crews gain valuable time in the race against the “Golden Hour,” the time when survival potential is the best for dealing with shock or traumatic injuries.

“The time for extrication has been reduced with the advent of the tools,” Simmons said. “When you take a look at the amount of lives that have been saved because of that, it’s astronomical.”

Thirty-five years later, extrication tools have become lighter, stronger, multi-purpose and more portable, and they have applications beyond vehicle rescue. Additionally, the power units – or the pumps – that supply the hydraulic pressure to operate the tools, are lighter and more efficient and can run more than one tool at the same time.

“More powerful tools have certainly been the trend,” said Bill Latta, president of RESQTEC, which is based in the Netherlands and has U.S. operations headquartered in St. Louis. In 1972 RESQTEC secured rights to introduce Hurst’s tools in Europe. The partnership subsequently introduced the cutter and the ram before the two companies went their separate ways in 1990 and RESQTEC launched its own line of extrication equipment.

Latta said portability has become an issue, and manufacturers have responded with backpack units and battery-powered units. “Lightweight tools has been a focus for us,” he said, “and not just the weight, but the ergonomics have been important.”

New vehicle construction has also challenged the industry, he said.

“Clearly today, it is a primary driver to our product development,” he said. “I think the complex car technology is going to continue to dictate where our industry goes for the next 5 to 10 years.”

Extrication tools commonly include spreaders, cutters and rams – powerful telescoping tools that can push or pull components such as a dashboard or steering wheel away from a vehicle occupant – as well as combination tools that can both cut and spread.

Weight And Power

One common trend has been a move to tools that are not only lighter, but also more powerful.

“More or less the tools have kept the same basic function and basic shape,” said Charles Kress, president of Loretto, Tenn.-based Phoenix Rescue Equipment, which specializes in heavy extrication.

Aluminum alloys have helped cut down on weight, and coatings have dramatically evolved, improving the durability and wear of the tools, Kress said.

“[Tools] have evolved from about 300 pounds down to about 30 pounds,” said Kress, who bought Phoenix six years ago from founder Mike Brick.

Brick had worked for Hurst and helped that company develop its hydraulic rescue tools in the early 1970s before launching his own company in 1982. Brick had wanted to develop tools that would not only spread, but also push, pull and cut – forerunners of today’s combination tools.

Extrication tools have become far more powerful than their predecessors, said Hurst’s Simmons. Where early cutters might have generated 12,000 pounds of cutting force, today’s cutters can commonly perform in the range of 200,000 pounds.

Achieving a balance between weight and power has been a prime focus in the industry.

“Some components, the market wants lighter. Some it wants stronger,” said Chuck Sheaffer, sales manager with Amkus Inc., of Downers Grove, Ill.

Amkus got its start in the late 1970s as an importer of tools made by a German company before producing and launching its own tools in 1982. The company felt it could better serve the market by becoming a manufacturer, said Sheaffer.

“Building our own equipment gave us the ability to adapt to our market,” he said. The company was among the first to build its tools primarily out of aluminum.

Layers Of Steel

“Unfortunately, you can’t always have both [lighter and stronger] all of the time,” Sheaffer said. “In the last few years, because of the change in vehicles, the need for stronger tools has become the focus, more so than weight.”

Developments in vehicle construction include new types of metals and techniques.

“With the makeup of the vehicles today, what was easier to cut years ago are now the more difficult things,” he said, referring to components such as posts and roofs that are more like a roll cage. “It’s many layers of steel that make up a post.”

Hinges And Nader Pins

TNT Rescue Systems, Inc. of Ashippun, Wis., northwest of Milwaukee, got its start in the mid-1980s, when then-parent company Blanton & Company – a maker of hydraulic pumps – was asked to manufacture hydraulic pumps for extrication tools. In the early 1990s, the company introduced its own line of rescue tools, said Brad Kraut, TNT’s senior vice president.

At the time, Kraut said, customers were requesting the ability to cut vehicle hinges and Nader Pins – the hardened steel bolts named after consumer protection advocate Ralph Nader that keep vehicle doors closed on impact.

“The cutters at the time would do it occasionally, but not all of the time,” Kraut said, noting there was concern about the tools breaking. “[Company owner Tom Blanton] saw that need, so he designed our first cutters to do that.”

Vehicle technology has also impacted how the tools are used. “As hybrids hit the market and as the cars get more highly developed,” Simmons said, “people need to know the construction of the vehicle.”

Some manufacturers have published CDs and books providing information about how vehicles are constructed, where reinforcements are made and where critical components, such as batteries, air bags and hybrid high-voltage power lines are located. That information can be critical to rescuer safety.

Extrication tools have evolved to the point where they are also being used for structural collapses, with specialty cutters, spreaders and rams developed for that application.

They are also used in mine rescue and industrial applications, according to Kress of Phoenix Rescue. He said many customers, particularly smaller fire departments, want more uses from their tools – rams, for example, that can be used for stabilization as well as spreading.

The power units operating the tools have become lighter, more powerful and easier to deploy.

They have evolved from two-cycle motors for a single tool to lightweight portable pumps to pto-driven systems capable of powering multiple tools simultaneously. Most pumps these days can power more than one tool at a time.

“The most important part of the system is the power unit,” said TNT’s Kraut. It needs to operate reliably and offer the right balance between power and speed.

Speed And Simplicity

“The speed of the tool is important. A cutter that moves a little bit faster does a better job, but the speed has to be controlled,” Kraut said. Speed is particularly desired between operations, after making a cut or a spread while repositioning the tool to make another cut or spread.

“You want that to move back quickly, but you also want to be able to control that speed when you’re operating the tool,” he said. It does no good for a tool to move too fast and injure someone.

Fran Dunigan, the marketing manager for Holmatro Inc., located in Glen Burnie, Md., said speed and simplicity are two qualities his company has focused on.

“When you can open a cutter 65 percent faster than it closes making a cut, it means you can get ready to make other cuts quicker,” he said. “Speed can make a big difference when you’re doing extrication work.”

To make its extrication tools less complex, he said Holmatro engineers developed the company’s CORE Technology, a coaxial single line hose connection and a quick connector that places the high-pressure line going to the tool within the low pressure return line to give it added protection.

Other trends in the industry include the introduction of more on-board extrication tool systems, Sheaffer said. Amkus, for instance, manufactures a pto-driven hydraulic system that frees up compartment space, uses preconnected tools for quick deployment, can run six tools simultaneously and allows the use of longer hose lengths without the loss of tool speed or power.

“The performance of an on-board system versus a portable is just phenomenal,” he said. “Also, manpower is an issue. So an on-board system helps limit the manpower needed to deploy the system.”

When looking to purchase a set of extrication tools, the industry experts said it is crucial to use them and to look at what kind of service the manufacturer or dealer offers after the sale. In short, they said, forget the sales literature.

“The first thing to do is to get the tools into the hands of your members and use the tools to see how they work, to see how they feel,” said TNT’s Kraut. “Look at the follow-up service and the warranty that backs the tool… If these tools don’t work right, people’s lives are worse than they already are.”

Sheaffer of Amkus, agrees.

“The first thing you need to do is honestly look at what support any tool is going to have once you purchase a system,” he said. “I think that’s something a lot of people miss… Departments need to determine how good a dealer is in their area.”

RESQTEC’s Latta said customer service is important, “but it’s also important to get your hands on the tools. You don’t go buy a car without driving it.”

Kress of Phoenix Rescue advised, “Don’t trust anybody’s numbers.”

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1936 Standard on Powered Rescue Tools, 2005 Edition, establishes criteria for the design, performance and testing of powered rescue tools and their components – devices that spread, lift, hold, crush, pull and cut wreckage from accident victims. The standard further sets criteria for product conformance verification to assist purchasers in selecting powered rescue tools.

Most rescue tools makers have products that are compliant with the NFPA 1936 standard, but each manufacturer has its own way of measuring performance and often the numbers cannot be compared from tool to tool or manufacturer to manufacturer.

Sheaffer also advises looking beyond Web site statements and sales literature to tools that are third-party tested – and certified – for the NFPA.

“It’s easy to get caught up in numbers,” he said. “Really, the only true test that you can use to match these tools up today is the NFPA test. It is the only place that is a level playing field.