VIDEO: On week three of the Cedar Rapids Citizens' Fire Academy it was time to bring out one of the most important tools when it comes to fire departments responding to the scene of a serious car crash.
"I always thought it was just one piece of equipment," Gary Sager, one of the class members said. "Learning tonight, it's two or three with the cutter and the spreader."
They are affectionately called the "Jaws of life". At a price tag of upwards of $10000 a piece, the hydraulic rescue tools are worth every penny to fire fighters since they enable them to safely extract someone from a vehicle. The cutter, spreader and ram can help pull doors off of cars, take roofs off and cut class out without a problem. Firefighters rely on them to fulfill one of their main goals, to rescue a patient within a set time frame and also make sure they are transported to consistent care as quickly as possible.