Firefighter Kristen Schussler, Fire Chief Jan Papelino, Captain John Fowlston and Firefighter Robert Boellmann with the Genesis brand extraction equipment, sometimes referred to as the "jaws of life." The equipment purchase was made possible by the Norwich Volunteer Firefighters Association, with 81 percent of funding coming from them. The remaining 19 percent was paid by the Norwich Fire Department equipment budget. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH — The George Rider Hook and Ladder Rescue Company of the Norwich Fire Department is now better equipped to keep community members safe after a recent purchase of rescue tools. The new extraction equipment, sometimes called the "jaws of life," are used in serious car accidents, but they are adaptable to many situations.

While the department has been equipped for many years with hydraulically-operated extraction tools, the newly purchased tools are electrically charged and battery operated. The benefit of battery-operated rescue tools is they are highly portable with no hydraulic lines attached to the rescue truck.

"These are battery-operated extrication tools that are very powerful and do the job very fast, plus we can get them right where they are needed rapidly," said Captain John Fowlston.

In side-by-side comparison exercises, the battery-operated tools deployed more quickly and had instantaneous high pressure, and were deemed an improvement over the hydraulic tools. These tools are vital for firefighters when rescuing people trapped inside cars at an accident scene.

"Our job is all about time. Getting someone out of a wrecked car and quickly into an ambulance gets them to a hospital, where they need to be, sooner," said Norwich Fire Department Chief Jan Papelino.

The rescue tools purchased are Genesis brand made in Dayton, Ohio, and include a spreader, a cutter, and a ram, each generating thousands of pounds of force on a small operating surface. Extra heavy-duty batteries were also purchased.

An interesting capability of the Genesis brand tools is the fact that they are fully waterproof and submersible. Underwater rescue doesn't happen often, but the capability is there.

The tools are expensive, and the purchase was a collaborative effort with 81 percent of the money coming from the Norwich Volunteer Firefighters Association funds, and the remaining 19 percent from the city fire department equipment budget.

The fire department plans to keep the older hydraulic system, purchased decades ago, in service as backup tools. Redundancy and backup in the fire service, and all emergency services, are important.

The George Rider Hook and Ladder Rescue Company was established in 1859, named after a prominent Norwich community leader and philanthropist. The rescue company consists of volunteer and paid staff operation a 105-foot ladder truck and heavy rescue box truck that responds to fires, highway crashes, and general rescue operations.

-Information provided by the Norwich Fire Department