KIPLING — Having the right tools for the job is crucial for any workplace, and in the firefighting world, the correct tools can save a life.
The Kipling Fire Department received a major upgrade to their hydraulic vehicle extrication equipment — commonly referred to as the Jaws of Life — recently. They were the beneficiaries of provincial funding through SGI’s Transportation Rescue Extrication Program that came about in 2023 when TREX was supported with one-time funding of $5.6 million from SGI and distributed through the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
“I was under the impression it was just for new fire departments or fire departments that wanted to get into rescue, but it turns out that it was for departments that had tools as well,” explained Kipling’s Fire Chief Ken Nordal. “We applied and did get them, so we’re very grateful for that.”
The set the Kipling Fire Department had been relying on for many years is a common sight around rural fire halls, the old-school tools with hydraulic lines tethered to a power source. The new set of Holmatro brand equipment features battery packs, allowing responding firefighters to access difficult-to-reach areas much easier without being limited in range due to a hose.
“The set that we currently use in the rescue truck would be at least 25 years old now,” Nordal explained, adding with relief that “we haven’t had to use tools this year yet, so that’s a bonus.”
The older set will still be utilized by the fire department, despite their age.
“Unfortunately, the cutting pressure on the older tools isn’t as good as it should be because they’re using new metal in all these vehicles and different alloys,” Nordal said. “It’s tougher to cut, it’s tougher to spread, it’s tougher to tear apart. New tools that have more cutting pressure and more spreading pressure make the job a lot easier.”
Special delivery
Mike Beamish is a Rescue Tool Specialist with Sea Hawk Services, a company that provides fire equipment sales and service through Saskatchewan and Manitoba. He also brought the new tools—a $70,000 package that includes a spreader, cutter, telescopic ram, and a pair of stabilization struts—to the Kipling Fire Hall on Jan. 20.
“Battery rescue tools have been out for about 10 to 12 years in full force, but they’ve been making them better and better, and that’s the key—these ones specifically, they’re our most refreshed generation, they just came out in January of ’24,” he said while giving Nordal plus fellow Kipling firefighters Ben Baker and Kevin Puffalt a first glimpse of the new tools. “This specific generation of tool we’ve had for about two to three years.”
The group made quick work of unboxing the new tools before aligning them on the floor of the Kipling Fire Hall for a more detailed inspection.
“This cutter is not the biggest cutter that’s made, but this cutter will cut every post on any car in service today,” Beamish said while handling the Pentheon Series cordless inclined cutter. “I’ve seen that cut the receiver hitch off the back of a pickup truck. I don’t recommend it for your cutters, but if need be, you can do that. They’re very powerful, very strong.”
The tools the Kipling Fire Department received are among 45 similar sets across the province, featuring details designed to excel under pressure and to accommodate all types of people.
“Today, our firefighter doesn’t have the same body type that the stereotypical firefighter has,” Beamish said. “We have different ages, different genders, different body sizes, right? It’s all different. So we have to be able to work with the firefighters we get, especially in our small communities.”
Details such as an array of super-bright LED lights around the rubberized handle of the tools, shining forward and exactly where a light source is needed, magnetic power sockets, and Bluetooth capabilities prove the equipment had input from firefighters during their design.
“A lot of the engineers are firefighters themselves,” Beamish noted. “They’ve been doing this for this industry for a very long time with the goal of helping firefighters. I’m very thankful I get to be a part of the team that does this.”
They’re also the same tools that Beamish—Fire Chief with Clavet Fire and Rescue—uses in their hall.
“We have Highway 16 and we have a lot of commuting traffic to the mines, we tend to use them a fair bit,” he said of the battery-powered hydraulic tools. “They build a really great rescue tool. I don’t just say that because I sell it, but I also use it in my fire hall.”
Training is key
With the new set of extrication tools, there likely won’t be much arm-twisting to get those dedicated volunteers out to the next practice night in Kipling.
“Over the years, we’ve taken a lot of vehicles apart and taken quite a few people out,” Nordal said, adding that the new tools won’t present much of a learning curve to master. “We just had a vehicle extrication course here before Christmas that we put on ourselves.”
That course saw 13 members of the Kipling Fire Department sharpen their skills, with more extrication training planned for the future.
“We will do some more training with these tools because we just used our tools before for the training, so now we’ll do training with these,” Nordal explained, adding that they do accept donations of junker vehicles for training purposes. “We do take them, just as long as they’re not that far out of our area where it becomes too expensive to get them here,” he said. “A lot of the stuff you get is 25 years old, where there’s no airbags, so it’s pretty hard to show people where not to cut.”
With the increased numbers of airbags in newer vehicles, knowing exactly where to use the hydraulic tools is vitally important to avoid an accidental deployment. Also, a factor that will be a concern in the future will be how to safely use the tools on electric vehicles—another specific training session Nordal would like to see local firefighters take part in.
The Kipling Fire Department serves a large area, roughly from Fairlight to Montmartre, covering six rural municipalities, plus providing mutual aid for neighbouring departments when the need arises.
In 2024, the department of 24 volunteers (including two junior members) responded to 25 calls. Of those events, three included STARS landings, half were motor vehicle collision rescue and nine were fire-related calls.
