This page posts technical and Safety information for the use of Cribbing and other stabilization tools used by the Fire and Rescue Services . Subjects covered will be ,auto to class 8, construction equipment ,building collapse and confined space rescue.
 

Topics being worked on: click on links to go to
Stabilization
How to Pack or re-pack a CribPac kit
Mark before you cut
Mechanical properties of wood
Destructive testing of cribbing stacks, hardwood, softwood
Stopping the progression of an incident
Evolution's in Extrication  new!!!!!

 4 POINT BOX CRIBBING
9 POINT BOX CRIBBING
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What material is best to use for cribbing. Soft wood , Hardwood  or Plastic ? I think I can express my opinion best buy stating that  "In the fire and rescue services you should plane for the worse and hope for the best." Is the call to an overturned carriage or a 35 ton excavator? Many heavy rescue units carry air bags that can lift 72 tons. Even if it is only for 2".  To lift more cribbing is necessary. Can soft wood hold that load?  Below are charts showing the mechanical properties of wood.  Pine is rated at from 220 to 440 psi. and maple is rated at 400 to 1000 and can go as high at 1,470 psi., compression perpendicular to the grain. If you examine the charts you will see that not only is hard wood able to hold more ,it is many times more resistant to impact and bending. So far what I have seen and heard plastic is slippery and softens with heat.