Firefighter/rescue worker utility anchor

A utility anchor, comprising:

• an anchor body having front, back, top, and bottom sides, and a generally wedge shape when viewed from either of said front or back sides, said anchor body having a through hole disposed from said top side to said bottom side and opposing channels extending down a portion of said through hole;
• a rod slidably disposed in said through hole, said rod having a connection element disposed at a first end, a stopper disposed on a second end, said stopper including an elongate bar having a longitudinal axis and having a width substantially the same as the width of said anchor body;
• opposing pins disposed on said rod below and spaced apart from said stopper;
• and
• a helical compression spring disposed around a portion of said rod shaft immediately above and between said lower collar and said bottom side of said anchor body, thereby making said rod spring-loaded relative to said anchor body, such that said spring urges said first end of said rod downwardly and away from said anchor body and urges said stopper toward said anchor body;
• wherein said pins rest on said shoulders of said anchor body when said rod is pushed sufficiently upwardly and turned such that said longitudinal axis of said stopper is generally normal to said longitudinal axis of said anchor body, and wherein when said longitudinal axis of said stopper is substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of said anchor body, said rod is urged outwardly by said spring from said bottom side of said anchor body, and said pin nests in said channels.

A utility anchor having an extended and a retracted configuration, comprising:

• a generally solid anchor body having a through hole;
• a shaft slidably and rotatably disposed in said through hole;
• a stopper element disposed on a first end of said shaft and a connector element disposed on a second end of said shaft;
• a bias member disposed between said anchor body and said connector element urging said connector element away from said anchor body such that the utility anchor is in a retracted configuration;
• and
• locking structure disposed on said shaft for selectively locking said utility anchor into an extended configuration;
• wherein by pushing said connector element toward said anchor body and turning said shaft within said through hole, said utility anchor can be moved from a retracted configuration to an extending configuration.