Those powerful Kinman “jaws” could tear the top off a car or open a door to save the life of a trapped victim following an accident. In fact, with practice I was able to pop a car door open in less than 30 seconds and did so many times. But, the most interesting demo was at the Fireman Training School at Texas A & M College. These were very intense training sessions as A & M was and is the premier training venue for volunteer firemen throughout the South and Southwest.

The night we gave our demo, engineer Dave Humphries was in a nearby tower on the public address system and I was the grunt handling the tool. Gathered around us were several hundred volunteer firemen, but beyond them were a half-dozen other staged catastrophes such as a house fire, LPG fire, heart attack victim, accident scene, etc. and each had its own noise, PA and visual effects. So, the setting was nothing short of loud pandemonium, or you might say, something like a real accident.

Anyway, at the appointed time, I listened for Dave’s narration on the PA but could only hear all the noise around us so I began to tear apart an old car. First, the door came off, then the top, followed by the other door. It was an outstanding demonstration but the LP fire 40 or so yards away commanded most of the attention. When I finished, I asked for questions and got none as the guys were already 12 hours into a very long training day and ready to sit and rest.

Texas A & M remains the leading training facility for volunteer fireman and that has led to outstanding service provided by volunteer fire departments throughout the region.

We did not sell a single tool that night, but did later from that one demonstration.