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Playing With Jaws: Cleetus Gives The Jaws of Life A Testing


Playing With Jaws: Cleetus Gives The Jaws of Life A Testing

You’re hanging upside-down in your car, suspended by the belts. You’re head is fuzzy…did you hit something during the rollover or are you just needing to get your bearings back together? Is that gasoline you smell? You’re hurt…at least, your arm really hurts, maybe it’s broken. Yeah, that’s gas you smell. You want out. Now. Get me out of this tin-can that used to be a car. The doors won’t open and you don’t have an opening big enough to squeeze through. Now what? For many who have found themselves in that situation, the Hurst “Jaws of Life” tool has been the answer. Developed by George Hurst in 1961 after he saw just how long it took to remove an injured stock car racer out of a wreck using crowbars and circular saws, the hydraulic cutters, rams and spreaders work together to basically rip a car to pieces in a safe manner. Need that hood cranked open to put the fire out? Just ram the jaws into the opening and spread until the nozzle fits. Need to extract our poor hypothetical driver out of the car? Snip the roof pillars off, ditch the roof and get the stretcher ready. Countless lives exist thanks to this handy device.

Knowing that it’s capable is one thing, but actually knowing how to operate one and to trust that it will work when you need it to work requires hands-on training. One of the items that Cleetus McFarland inherited with the purchase of the Freedom Factory was the Jaws of Life tool that was stuck away. Since he has a couple of pretty much dead Crown Victorias on the property, he selected one and used it as his training test.


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2 thoughts on “Playing With Jaws: Cleetus Gives The Jaws of Life A Testing

    1. familyguy81

      I know right? Its so hard being jealous of a dude living a life most of us could only wish for and having all that disposable income to buy cars most of us probably could never afford.Oh, and his own track.

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