CITY FIREFIGHTERS INVENT RESCUE ACCESSORIES

When a person is seriously injured and trapped in the wreckage of an overturned vehicle, the time it takes to extricate the victim can mean the difference between life and death.

It's called the "Golden Hour," and it starts from the time the person is injured until the victim undergoes medical care.

Most rescue squads and fire departments use versions of the Hurst tool, more commonly known as the Jaws of Life, to extricate those trapped in vehicles.

But what happens when a particular rescue or extrication calls for a specialized piece of equipment for the Hurst tool that simply doesn't exist? To Cape Girardeau firefighters the old saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention," takes on a whole new meaning when lives are at stake.

During the past five years, Cape Girardeau firefighters have "invented" and built three accessories for the Hurst tool that enable them to free trapped victims faster and more safely.

Firefighter Donnie Smith, 57, a 33-year veteran firefighter with the department, invented and built a claw-like metal cradle that attaches on a pin to one end of the Hurst tool. The cradle can lift a crushed dashboard from the legs of trapped people.

Firefighter Paul "Butch" Lufcy, who has been with the fire department 22 years, came up with an idea for a metal "shoe" that attaches to one side of the Jaws of Life that enables the unit to safely and quickly lift overturned vehicles high enough to free those trapped inside or beneath the vehicle.

Smith also has made three, one-inch diameter wire cables of varying lengths with eyelets at each end. The cable attaches to one side of the Hurst tool. By attaching the other eye to another part of the car, the cable can literally cut through the bottom posts of a car seat like a tin snip through tin, and without touching the victim.

Smith and Lufcy were among the original team of firefighters assigned to start up the fire department's rescue and extrication unit when Gene Huckstep and his body shop employees got out of the emergency rescue and extrication service about five years ago. Today, the Cape Girardeau Fire Department's rescue team responds to calls for assistance in all parts of Cape Girardeau County.

Smith said the homemade Hurst tool accessories were designed to save lives.

He said: "The one thing we always keep in mind during an extrication call is the Golden Hour. The longer someone is trapped and not able to receive medical help, the greater the chance they may not survive. If it takes two minutes longer than needed to extricate someone, that's two minutes too long for us."

Smith said the metal cradle lifts the plastic and steel frame dashboards that are in nearly all of today's cars.

"If you try to lift a plastic dash with one end of the Hurst tool, all it will do is punch holes in the plastic dashboard," said Smith. "Before I came up with the cradle, we were punching a lot of holes in the bottom of the dashboards. Now we can do in one operation what it used to take five operations to free someone. We place the cradle under the bottom edge of the dashboard and expand the Hurst tool. The cradle distributes the force from the Hurst tool equally over a larger area of the dash, and there are no holes."

Smith said the same cradle can also be used in front-wheel drive cars to force a collapsed steering wheel up and away from the trapped legs of a victim. The cradle is placed against the shaft of the steering wheel.

Smith said the cradle was made from three pieces of scrap steel, aluminum blocks and case-hardened machine bolts. "If I had to build one today, I guess it would cost about $50," said Smith.

After building the cradle, Smith planned to demonstrate it at the next extrication training class for firefighters. But three days later he was put to work following a major accident near Delta that claimed several lives and trapped the victims in the car.

Smith said Lufcy's plate-metal "shoe" attachment for the Hurst tool enables the rescue team to safely and quickly lift overturned vehicles high enough off the ground to free trapped people.

Smith said the wire cables he made can cut a car seat from its mounting bolts in the frame without touching or moving the injured legs of trapped victims.

"They are a much safer way to pull the seat back," said Smith. "We put one eye of the cable on the Hurst tool, push the other end of the cable under the seat, around the victim, and attach it to another part of the car, and slowly expand the Hurst tool. It's a slower process, like cutting through tin, but there is no danger of causing additional injury to the victim's legs."

Smith said the cables are rated at 80,000 pounds of strength, while the average extrication requires about 2,400 pounds of tinsel strength.

Smith said he considered patenting the accessories, but dropped the idea when he found out it would cost too much money for the research work.

"I did write two letters over the past several years to the Hurst people to let them know what we had done, and sent them some designs, but I have never heard anything back from them," he said. "If any other rescue squad or fire department would like to build their own Hurst tool accessories, all they have to do is get in touch with me and I'll send them a copy of the plans. The only purpose for these accessories is to help save lives."