100 Firefighters Attend the Hugely Successful 2008 Roll-Ex™ Program
at Res-Q-Jack’s® Stabilization University
Elmira, NY - About 100 firefighters from the U.S. & Canada converged at the headquarters of
Res-Q-Jack®, Inc. on Saturday September 20th, 2008 to tackle some of the most complex vehicle
crash scenarios that Watkins Glen Chief, Dominick Smith could muster up. Roll-Ex™ is a
training program offered at Res-Q-Jack’s® Stabilization University.
There were numerous T-bone overrides, an overturned farm tractor, and the basic overturns. The
morning was spent on strut stabilizing and lifting techniques and then the hydraulic tools were
integrated into the afternoon scenario activities.
In most of the crash scenarios, a little twist was added in to complicate things for the rescuers a
bit. They were required to lift the vehicle with the struts in a safe & stable manner to allow for
various extrication operations. In one scenario, an inverted car was resting on an upright car.
The team had to remove the roof from both vehicles and then get the bottom vehicle out from
under the upper vehicle. A team from Oceanside, Long Island pulled this task off quite
successfully. Shown here is a before and after photo.
An instructor from West Virginia led several teams in working on a vehicle resting vertically
against a tree. One team’s task was to push the vehicle a certain distance away from the tree and
then remove the roof.
Another scenario involved a school bus tipped over on a roof-resting car. Firefighters had to lift
the bus with lifting struts on one side while backing the struts down on the opposite side in order
to roll the bus off the vehicle in a controlled fashion.
This was far more than just a great learning environment for lifting and stabilizing strut
techniques, it was a chance to see why the new X-Strut™ technology is the wave of the future. A
no-nonsense add-on jack, on-board ratchet strap, and swivel head make for a firefighter friendly
stabilization strut that converts to a lifting strut without hassle, in seconds. The jack attaches to
the EZ-Mount™ jack pocket and self-aligns with the lift pin without the need for any pin removal
or insertion. If one jack does not give you the extension you need, simply insert second lift pin,
unload jack, remove extended jack, mount new retracted jack and continue. Jack change-out
takes seconds! The new aluminum version will handle up to 10,000 lbs column load so its strong
enough for collapse, fast enough for extrication, and light enough for anyone. The steel version
of X-strut™, available for 2009, was unveiled at the program as well.
Video and photos of the day’s events will be available at the company website,
www.res-q-jack.com very soon. Firefighters and rescue personnel interested in joining our
mailing list for the next Res-Q-Jack® Stabilization University: ROLL-EX™ 2009 should visit our
website and sign-up.
Res-Q-Jack®, Inc. offers solutions for firemen, police, EMS and other rescue workers with a
complete array of extrication tools, rescue struts, vehicle stabilization and lifting struts, to assist
responders in vehicle extrication where entrapment or lack of a stable platform for rescue is a
danger. These solutions are also used in many other environments such as aircraft, structural,
forcible entry and forestry. The company also provides patented rescue techniques and training
where safety of the rescue workers is emphasized. For more information, visit the website
at www.res-q-jack.com |
