The Hamlin Fire Department has put a new hydraulic rescue system into service on its Rescue Truck. Department officials say the new equipment will dramatically enhance their ability to remove people trapped in vehicles after an accident. The speed in which the firefighters can remove a victim from a traumatic accident is a major factor in that person's ability to recover. With this in mind, the Hamlin Fire District Commissioners and Chiefs have spent several years researching and testing several brands of hydraulic rescue equipment to replace the current equipment purchased in the mid 1980s. The result of this was the purchase of a system from Genesis that includes a cutting tool, spreading tool, a ram tool, an electric and a gas powered hydraulic pump and all related hoses and accessories. The new Genesis equipment is a high pressure system that pumps the hydraulic fluid through the hoses to the tools at 100,500 pounds per square inch, more than doubling the specs of the old equipment. This means that the power that the tools can develop is greatly increased. The cutting tool on the new system develops 144,000 pounds of force compared to 25,000 pounds on the old system. The spreading tool in the new system is equally impressive, developing a force of 74,250 pounds compared to the old system that had 14,500 pounds of force. The Genesis system can use this increased power to either speed the opening and closing of the tool or use it to overpower the super strong Boron steel used in some vehicles. The ability to switch from speed to strength is an important advantage unavailable in the old hydraulic tools used by the department. Another advantage of the new equipment is the ability to run two tools simultaneously from one hydraulic pump. This allows both the cutters and the spreaders to be used to remove a vehicle's doors and roof while the second pump can power the ram tool to push the dashboard and steering wheel up and away from the front seat occupants. The two pumps on the old equipment could only power one tool each, which forced firefighters to stop the process of removing a victim while the pumps were put into neutral and the tools switched. The new system has hot swap connections that allow tools to be changed with a simple twist of the connectors and the pump can remain engaged the whole time. The Hamlin Fire Department is the first customer in the northeastern United States to have this new type of connectors. According to department officials, the new Genesis hydraulic rescue equipment will enable the Hamlin Fire Department to provide a much higher level of service to the community and everyone is invited to the department's Open House on October 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be demonstrations, tours, hands-on events, safety information and rides in a fire truck. Provided information. © October 7, 2007 - Westside News Inc. |
