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Res-Q-Jack anyone?
My department just received a complete Res-Q-Jack kit. I am just curious if anyone else has them and can tell me some experience tips, things to watch out for, likes and dislikes. Anything will be helpful. The Rep from the company came down today and went over the equipment. I dont know if I am sold on it yet. I think I like Air Shores better.
Thanks, William
Thanks, William
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ENGINE 6 LT. on
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We do not have them YET. i wasnt really sold on the idea behind the res q jack system. to me those are sign poles inside of each other, i have a hard time believing they r stronger then struts.
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Permalink Reply by Brian Evans aka HOT POCKETS on
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remember to secure, secure all points.........
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Permalink Reply by William Williams on
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I hear ya.... yeah Im not very trusting of it yet. I dont like the fact of some of the triangulation strategies you have to implement to properly secure them. Some times you are not going to get that perfect triangle or perfect anchor point. Once the vehicle has been in a wreck, that frame and sheet metal is weakened and who knows what could happen. I do think it is a nice invention with a great goal in mind though.
As a wise man once told me......any thing man made has the potential of failing.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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We bought a set last year, and so far (knock on wood) haven't used them at an actual incident.
Our training level isn't what I would like it to be yet, however we will fix that over the summer.
I look at the tool set as being an addition to the other stabilization equipment we have - different scenes need different techniques, and so on.
Quick deployment is not one of the tool's strong suits, but for prolonged/complicated extrications they will be a big help.
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Permalink Reply by joe on
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they are a great tool if used and trained with by the group. we have and use them. evey time a car is flipped on it's side or roof they get used. you can see them used in a few accidents by going to firegroundimages .com and look for them . not sure what pics they are in but train train train with them to use then . good luck any ? just ask if i can help i will
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Permalink Reply by capt-po on
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we have purchased a different style of struts, and they work great, the one most important thing is that the people who use them know how the right way, we have used them a few times and they worked well
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I appreciate all your comments. Thanks for the input. Yes we will definitely have to train with these to become quick and efficient at setting them up and just become comfortable with them all around. They got mounted on the truck yesterday! Hope it is some time before I have to use them.
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Permalink Reply by Ralph on
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We got a set last year, following a few bad rollovers, and nothing really to stabilize the vehicles with. And I have gone through two extrication classes recently, which used them a lot. They are very useful tools, and after some good instruction, they aren't intimidating. They're great for stabilizing, and the crank lifts the entire car when neccesary, with very little effort. I can't say enough about them, they're great. The only thing is that they're a little heavy, but that's because they're built like a tank.
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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I'd stick with the Paratech. They're use is only limited by your imagination, vehicle stabilization, trench shoring, collapse shoring, etc. Set up time, even just playing around, we have them set up and secure in less than 2 min. Res-Q-Jacks are good, but they are not as adaptable or maybe I should say versatile. But that is my opinion.
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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There's some discuissions and photos in the "Vehicle Rescue" group showing the use of these various systems if you want to have a look....
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Permalink Reply by Lester Pearsall on
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Love them. The quickest way to stabalize a car we've seen yet.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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We have Paratechs, but we use them only for trench rescue and structural collapse shoring. We carry Rescue 42 Telecribbing for stabilizing overturned vehicles. These are similar to the ResQJacks. I like the Telecribbing, because it is a more versatile system than the ResQJacks, but it's faster to set up and much less expensive than the Paratechs.
Tensioned Buttress Systems for extrication have been around in crude form for almost 30 years. Long 4 x 4 cribbing and Jim Gargan's JimmiJak struts were the first efforts at these.
Current vendors include the R-42 Telecribbing, ResQJack, and the Alpha Crutch. I've used all three. I like the double-ended tensioned buttress that you get with the Telecribbing or the Alpha Crutches better than the ResQJack for two reasons. The ResQJack uses two struts opposite the single jackable strut. This requires rescue personnel to expose themselves to the fall zone on the jackable strut side of the car. That also creates a triangular support system, which is inherently less stable at the ends than a rectangular support system like you get with the Crutches or the Telecribbing.
We've also used our Telecribbing as a hasty support for a concrete structural lintel at a structrual collapse because it was faster than Paratechs.
Ron Moore has some good archived stuff on tensioned buttress systems for extrication in his University of Extrication series on Firehouse.com.
Here's one with the old Z-Mag feet attached to long 4 x 4 cribbing: http://www.firehouse.com/extrication/archives/1999/march99.html
Here's one with the Crutch and ResQJack systems: http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/University-of-Extrication/Vehic...$734
Telecribbing web site: http://www.rescue42.com/ctcstruts.php
ResQJack web site: http://www.res-q-jack.com/
Here's a new one called the Bear Strut that I'm not familiar with, but looks similar: http://www.5alarm.com/bearstrut.html
The bottom line is that tensioned buttress systems designed for vehicle overturns are very effective. Once you learn the basics, you can stabilize most vehicles on their side or in unusual positions pretty well. Some of those basics are to avoid exposing your body to the fall zone while placing the struts (Alpha Crutch and Telecribbing good for this, ResQJack not so good), to stabilize the car snugly but without overtensioning the ratchet straps, and to avoid strut purchase points that are flimsy, heavily damaged, moveable, or cantilevered.
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