KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When someone is trapped inside their car, time is of the essence to get them out.
On Wednesday, during a training session, Kansas City firefighters demonstrated how they rescue people using Jaws of Life.
The jaws weigh about 35 pounds. They are essentially a massive pair of steel scissors that firefighters use to tear apart cars whenever someone is trapped inside.
This week, all 1,100 Kansas City firefighters are training at Advantage Metals Recycling in east Kansas City to better understand their role when they come upon a car accident.
“We start right here with some of the basic classes on where are the points of entry are on the car, where the points of danger are on the car, things of that nature,” Batt. Chief James Garrett, KC Fire Department.
Everyone works as a team. As some cut apart the car, others care for the victim while still others use water to prevent a fire. Everybody is there to do their job and it’s an organized chaos.
It can be hard on these first responders seeing crash victims in such bad shape, but they stay focused on the task at hand. The quicker they get the victim out, the better the chance of survival.
“We don’t get wrapped up in the emotion of the blood and the gore and the carnage of it and really approach it as, ‘Where do we need to enter the car at?'” he said.
Every Kansas City, Mo. firefighter will train on the Jaws of Life so they all know how to use them.
