Some more competitions - excuse the music.

The reduced weight would be great for lugging around, but when it comes to driving the claw into a door jamb or other tight space, that weight of the bar might be missed.

This vehicle is basically a MiG-21 engine on a T-55 chassis. The fire extinguishing procedure is called ‘aerosol method’ and works with finely atomized water and a jet engine. In this process the water is delivered in the exhaust plume of a jet engine, atomized by and through the exhaust gas stream over and it’s launched to a long distance. The main effect achieved is a cooling in a range of about 100 m.

The vehicle is displayed today at the Deutsches Feuerwehr-Museum Fulda.

Photo: The Mother of Invention - Science vs Tradition

Info: BOS-Fahrzeuge.info

The Canberra bushfires of 2003 caused severe damage to the outskirts of Canberra, the Australian capital city. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory’s pasture, forests and nature parks were severely damaged, and most of the renowned Mount Stromlo Observatory was destroyed. After burning for a week around the edges of the ACT, the fires entered the suburbs of Canberra on 18 January 2003. Over the next ten hours, four people died and more than 500 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, requiring a significant relief and reconstruction effort.  from Wikipedia

GRIMPday is an international, multidisciplinary technical rope rescue competition which takes place every October in Namur. The fourth edition was a face-off between 23 teams, from Belgium, France, Great Britain, Switzerland and Germany. The participants were firefighters, soldiers, police officers, rescuers, etc. All are members of GRIMP - Groupe de Reconnaissance et dIntervention en Milieu Périlleux (Reconnaissance and Intervention in Dangerous Environments Group). In teams of six and observed by evaluators, participants carried out a series of practical exercises on a timed and graded course: vertical evacuation of a victim, Tyrolean traverse, rappelling, underground progression, stretcher evacuation on a hill, etc.

This is a great tool if you live in earthquake country, or for first-responder firefighting or rescue folks. I imagine that with a sledge hammer, gloves, and this tool you could tear apart a whole woodframe house in a matter of hours. Everything you need is in the box, including the big Phillips-head screwdriver and adjustable wrench you might need for switching configurations around.

 The Alien Bees Vagabond Mini is a lithium battery pack which gives USB and AC power, and includes battery, inverter, and charger.  It will run any AC device less than 300 watts. $240