Extrication Tools

[ctlieutenant]

Whats does each department run for Extrication tools and do you have any preferred techniques that work well or story's of crashes you have ran were extrication was required (please remember HIPPA). Please share your tips and story's

[ctlieutenant]

My department covers close to 19.97 miles of first due area including a major L.A.H as well as providing mutual aid extrication services to several surrounding towns.We run the following on our first due rescue engine (Hurst JL-27 spreaders,Model-0 cutters and various rams with an on board electric power unit. On our ladder we run a Hurst Combi-Tool with a portable gas power unit we also have air bags of various sizes.

My tips::: A technique I like is the verticle crush.With this technique you place the spreader in the window opening and begin to spread as the arms open the top arm rests agenst the roof rail and the bottom arm pushes the door down and out.95% of the time you can completely pop a door in one spread. The only draw back is the newer vehicles have curtain air bags in the door and roof rails so you must ensure the vehicle does not have any of these features before starting.

As for story's iv got more then I have time or space to post

[somefireguy]

Our dept. runs Hurst We have the Transformer spreaders, 2-combi tools, extactor II cutter, a small "O" cutter and 5 rams of various sizes. We run with the spreaders, extarctor, and a combi tool preconnected. This seems to work well for us. We have a trimo pump as our power unit as well a gas unit for those hard to reach areas.
These tools have done us well and worked great on pretty much everything we have come across.
I am not going to knock other brand rescue tools out there because they all seem to do the same thing. It comes down to space and budget. But I am a hurst guy used them all my career and they have never let me down.

[ctlieutenant]

fireguy thanks for sharing :D the first time I used the transformer spreaders I was very impressed with the features and capabilities of going from a 24" to over a 40" spread in a very short time. Have you guys tried the new Hurst quick connections?

I am a Hurst guy myself but I agree whether Phoenix or Halmotro or any other brand tool they all do the job just some have different capabilities but like you said space and budget makes the final decision

[somefireguy]

Yeah we like them alot. The power is a great improvement over the 32 b we used to carry. also a little lighter. I have not used the quick connect it's pretty new from what I understand. I have seen it at several trade shows and the concept looks nice. A few dollars and some time will tell on them.

[ctlieutenant]

Firematic our Hurst dealer here in Connecticut come out and showed them off and we are looking to outfit our system with the new connections. The one plus with getting the new adapters is you can change tools with out having to dump the power unit especially if you run say one reel with three tools it helps avoid guys locking up the system.

[2nd Alarm FP]

Below is the list from my department. We cover 2 highways in a 15sq mile district. All equipment is Hurst.

2 trimo’s 3 port (electric)
1 mini –might (2 ports)
5 100’ reels
1 open connection
1 transformer spreader
1 X-Tractor S Cutter
1 X-Tractor II Cutter
1 X- Tractor C combi tool Cutter
Ram’s JL-C Series
2 32 ram’s
2 64 ram’s
1 24 ram
2 T-Series Ram’s

2 Ram attachment kits
1 Ram extension kit

Engines

1 mini might (2 ports)
1 old school electric pump (one port)
1 100’ reel
2 Combi tools ML 16s II

[ctlieutenant]

Below is the list from my department. We cover 2 highways in a 15sq mile district. All equipment is Hurst.

2 trimo’s 3 port (electric)
1 mini –might (2 ports)
5 100’ reels
1 open connection
1 transformer spreader
1 X-Tractor S Cutter
1 X-Tractor II Cutter
1 X- Tractor C combi tool Cutter
Ram’s JL-C Series
2 32 ram’s
2 64 ram’s
1 24 ram
2 T-Series Ram’s

2 Ram attachment kits
1 Ram extension kit

Engines

1 mini might (2 ports)
1 old school electric pump (one port)
1 100’ reel
2 Combi tools ML 16s II

Impressive setup 2nd alarm thanks for joining in and sharing :D

[somefireguy]

How is the extractor combi tool? I have not used it but it looks nice. We have the older mavericks on our unit looking to possibly replace at least one in the future.

[ctlieutenant]

How is the extractor combi tool? I have not used it but it looks nice. We have the older mavericks on our unit looking to possibly replace at least one in the future.

Actually they are pretty decent. A bit lighter then the maverick and they have the grooved handle with the turn control rather then the maverick with the smooth tube and the thumb control. Spreading was not an issue if memory serves me right it had the same as the maverick 16" spread and cutting was decent as well. very nice tool to operate. Defiantly worth the $$ spent for a rapid deployment tool. JMO