Malden Firefighters Use Jaws of Life in Emergency Rescue Demo

A couple dozen people attended a Jaws of Life demonstration Thursday afternoon at City Hall Plaza.

Shortly after noon, a group of youngsters from the My Little Best Friends and On The Road Again daycares watched in awe as firefighters ripped opened a green all wheel drive Forester using the Jaws of Life, which is emergency rescue equipment used to free people from a mangled vehicle following an accident. Firefighters used a splitter, cutter and ram to remove doors, the roof and other parts of the vehicle.

While Sparky the Fire Dog visited with children, firefighters used airbags underneath the vehicle to lift it up as though a person were trapped below.

Firefighters also conducted a church raise, which involved raising a 35-foot extension ladder straight into the air and a firefighter climbing to the top and back down. The exercise is used as a confidence builder for firefighters, according to Fire Chief John Colangeli.

Check out a brief video from the demonstrations, which were part of the Malden Fire Department's celebration of National Fire Safety Prevention Week.

Visit Malden Patch on Friday for complete coverage from the event.