Where Jaws of Life Are Commonly Used

They are most commonly used by fire and rescue teams at roadway crashes to free trapped occupants, and they also see frequent use in disaster zones, industrial accidents, aviation and rail incidents, maritime emergencies, and urban search-and-rescue operations. In practice, these hydraulic rescue tools—popularly known as the “Jaws of Life”—appear wherever people are mechanically trapped and rapid, controlled access can save lives.

What the Jaws of Life Are—and Why They’re Deployed

“Jaws of Life” is a widely used term for powered rescue tools such as cutters, spreaders, and rams originally popularized by Hurst. Whether battery-powered or connected to a hydraulic pump, these devices can shear through metal, pry open crumpled structures, and push apart wreckage. First responders use them to gain access to patients without exacerbating injuries, prioritizing speed, precision, and safety in high-stakes environments.

The Most Common Locations You’ll See Them

While they are versatile across many incident types, certain settings account for the majority of real-world deployments. The following locations represent where crews most frequently rely on the tools’ cutting and spreading power.

• Highways and arterial roads after car, SUV, and truck collisions
• Urban streets, tunnels, bridges, and parking structures
• Rural and remote roadways where vehicles roll over or strike fixed objects
• Racetracks and motorsports venues with high-speed crashes

These environments share a common factor: vehicle damage that traps occupants behind reinforced metal and glass, requiring rapid extrication and coordinated medical care.

Who Uses Them

Multiple agencies carry Jaws of Life or call for them through mutual aid. The roster reflects how extrication spans municipal, industrial, and specialized response teams.

• Municipal and volunteer fire departments, often paired with EMS
• Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) task forces for collapsed-structure operations
• Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) units at commercial and military airfields
• Industrial emergency response teams in oil, gas, chemical, mining, and manufacturing facilities
• Specialized law enforcement rescue units and technical rescue squads
• Coast Guard and marine responders for vessel collisions and dockside entrapments
• Military firefighting and emergency services in training and real-world incidents

Availability and capability vary by jurisdiction, but most regions rely on fire-based rescue as the primary operator, with specialty teams supporting complex or large-scale events.

Incident Types Where They’re Essential

Beyond car crashes, Jaws of Life appear in any scenario where structures deform around people or machinery traps limbs and bodies. These are the incidents responders train for repeatedly.

• Vehicle extrication: doors, roofs, and pillars removed after collisions, rollovers, or underrides
• Heavy-vehicle scenarios: buses, coaches, semi-trailers, and agricultural equipment
• Rail incidents: passenger or freight train entrapments and derailments
• Aviation crashes: small aircraft to airliner fuselage access by ARFF units
• Maritime: entrapments on commercial vessels, ferries, docks, and shipyards
• Building collapse: earthquakes, explosions, and structural failures in USAR operations
• Industrial and machinery entanglements: presses, conveyors, augers, balers, and rollers
• Natural disasters: hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods causing debris entrapment
• Agricultural accidents: tractor rollovers and grain or equipment entanglement

In each case, the tools are chosen for their ability to create controlled openings in tough materials while protecting patients and rescuers from secondary harm.

How They’re Used on Scene

Successful extrication is a methodical process that balances urgency with patient safety. Crews follow structured steps to stabilize hazards and then apply the tools with precision.

1. Stabilize: chock and crib the vehicle or structure; control traffic; disconnect power sources
2. Hazard control: manage fuel leaks, undeployed airbags, seatbelt pretensioners, and EV high-voltage systems
3. Gain access: spread doors, remove windows, cut pillars, displace dashboards, or ram to create space
4. Patient-centered extrication: coordinate with medics to minimize movement and protect spinal alignment
5. Removal and transfer: package and move the patient to definitive care while maintaining scene safety

This sequence reduces risk while speeding the “golden hour” timeline from entrapment to hospital care.

Evolving Tools and Modern Vehicles

Battery-powered rescue tools have become mainstream, offering cordless mobility, fast setup, and strong performance comparable to hose-and-pump systems. Meanwhile, vehicle construction has advanced: ultra-high-strength steels, reinforced pillars, and laminated glass improve occupant protection but can challenge older cutters. Agencies increasingly rely on current NFPA 1936-rated tools and consult automaker rescue sheets—especially for electric vehicles with high-voltage components and large battery packs—to identify safe cut points and avoid energized zones.

Safety, Training, and Limits

Effective use demands specialized training, disciplined incident command, and redundant safety measures. Crews mitigate risks from stored energy (airbags, struts), sharp metal, fire, and hazardous atmospheres. Jaws of Life are not universal solutions: some tasks require saws, airbags, lifting equipment, or heavy rigging, and underwater or hazmat conditions may call for specialized gear. Regular maintenance, tool staging, and realistic drills ensure reliability when seconds matter.

Summary

Jaws of Life are most commonly used by fire and rescue crews at roadway crashes, but their reach extends across disasters, industrial incidents, aviation and rail events, maritime emergencies, and structural collapses. Wherever people are trapped by metal, machinery, or debris, these hydraulic tools enable fast, controlled access that can make the difference between life and death.

Where are the Jaws of Life used?

A Jaws of Life power rescue tool is a special piece of rescue equipment used to save trapped victims from severe car accidents. Using the Jaws of Life, ensures safer and faster rescues altogether. This tool is made up of a group of mechanisms grouped together, each serving a specific purpose, for the rescue mission.

In which situations would you use a jaw of life?

Hydraulic rescue tools, also known as jaws of life, are used by emergency rescue personnel to assist in the extrication of victims involved in vehicle accidents or railway accidents and cutting large-sized debris of mild metal structures into smaller pieces for extraction of injured/dead victims out from building …

How many people have the Jaws of Life saved?

Over 24,000 Lives Saved
Know of a courageous rescue that used HURST Jaws of Life tools?

Are the Jaws of Life used in the military?

Air Force Special Operations Command
The “Jaws of Life” is the term used for a set of hydraulic tools used to cut away parts of a vehicle or aircraft in order to rescue people trapped inside.