Expanding the Fire Brigade’s Role in Rescue – the Introduction of the Jaws of Life

This year, 2025, marks 50 years since the first lot of hydraulic powered rescue equipment (known as the Jaws of Life) was introduced in the NSW Fire Brigades (NSWFB, now Fire and Rescue NSW). The first three kits of Jaws of Life were known as the Enerpac Rescue Sets, with these sets originally installed at Blacktown, Hornsby, and Miranda Fire Stations. The Jaws of Life were intended to be used at an accident before the arrival of other rescue squads, which at the time were the NSW Police and NSW Ambulance. The Enerpac equipment was primarily used for releasing persons trapped by crushed metal and fittings following a car accident, either by using the 10-tonne ram to re-shape distorted metal, or the one tonne force of the spreader to open jammed doors. The equipment could be quickly assembled and modified on-site to fit a variety of situations, with the unit being able to push, pull, lift, press, straighten, form, and spread with tonnes of force.

Jaws of Life demonstration, c. 1970s [Museum of Fire Collection]

Two years later in 1977, a further seven Enerpac units were installed across the state. During this same year, these Enerpac units were put to the test during the Granville Train disaster, ultimately proving their usefulness to the NSWFB. Furthermore, this disaster shone a light on the need to standardise rescue equipment across all emergency services.

This standardisation meant the NSWFB started installing new hydraulic jaws including ones made by Holmatro and Hurst over the next couple of years, and by 1979 there was a big push from NSWFB firefighters to have every appliance equipped with specialised rescue equipment. The following year in 1980, it was decided by the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW (the governing body of the NSWFB) to appoint a Rescue Officer, the first being Station Officer Gerard Buchtmann, who would conduct rescue training and oversee the categorisation of every fire station in NSW to determine their rescue capabilities and what equipment would need to be provided. In 1981, the NSWFB then purchased a range of new rescue equipment, including four sets of Holmatro jaws and other hydraulic gear, to better equip NSWFB firefighters and to assist the NSW Police Department’s Rescue Branch. This equipment enabled them to pry apart vehicle wreckage, cut through car panels, lift petrol tankers or train carriages clear of victims, and more. The four sets of Holmatro hydraulic jaws were assigned to the NSWFB’s new three key rescue stations in Stanmore, Kogarah, and Alexandria, with the fourth set being used at the Training College. More rescue equipment and training for NSWFB firefighters continued over the next couple of years, expanding across the entire state. By 1984, the centenary year of the NSWFB, 100 fire stations had rescue capabilities, with Dubbo being named the 100th station on 5 March 1984.

Handover of Holmatro rescue equipment at Alexandria Training College, November 1981. L to R: Chief Officer Rex Threlfo, Minister of Services Mr Peter Anderson, Training Officer Rescue Gerry Buchtmann, and Board President Mr Weston [Museum of Fire Collection]

The NSWFB’s rescue capability and responsibility continued to grow over the years, with formal recognition as the state’s primary rescue agency for hazardous material responses in 1993 (you can read about the history of HAZMAT here). The rescue capabilities of the NSWFB expanded even further in 1998 when the first Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) courses were conducted, seeing firefighters upskilled to assist in emergency recovery situations caused by natural disasters, with the NSW USAR Team receiving United Nations recognition and qualification in 2012. You can find out more about USAR and it’s development here or you can read about an incident that the team were involved in, the Boxing Day Tsunami by clicking here.

Firefighters use the jaws of life to pry a car door open to free a person at an incident, c. 1990s [Museum of Fire Collection]

During the 1990’s and the expansion of the NSWFB’s responsibilities, is when they also started to be become the primary rescue agency in Metropolitan Sydney, taking over from the NSW Police. By 2011, the NSWFB truly became the primary rescue agency in NSW, ultimately changing their name to Fire and Rescue NSW to acknowledge that their responsibilities are much greater than just firefighting.

- Story by the Museum of Fire Heritage Team