When accidents happen, every second counts. For firefighters and rescue workers across the globe, it is vital to keep rescue operations as smooth and safe as possible. The chain rescue kit, developed by The Crosby Group, provides the needed flexibility and efficiency in these challenging operations.

Modern vehicles are much safer than old vehicles and survival rates are increasing each year. However, as they are designed to deform and absorb the impact this can leave passengers trapped in the vehicle. Today, firefighters and rescue teams use various tools including hydraulic ram jacks to extract the trapped passenger, but these tools are expensive, heavy and require the operator to stand next to point of extraction.

The main benefit of the chain rescue kit is its versatility. In the separation operation, instead of using a ram jack, which is heavy and can obstruct medical workers, the sling attaches to the pillars and then connects to the firetruck’s winch or body. The extraction is then done by either winching in or reversing the truck. This allows for an extremely rapid operation and subsequently expedites medical care to the people involved in the accident. The chain rescue kit can be used interchangeably in different type of accidents, such as frontal impact, side, and rear impact.

The chain rescue kits were developed in Sweden by Gunnebo Industries, part of The Crosby Group.

The chain rescue kits were developed in Sweden by Gunnebo Industries, part of The Crosby Group, years ago and are well-known by emergency workers as flexible and effective. The equipment and associated rescue practices have been standardized in Scandinavia with huge success, making recuse operations quicker and patient friendly.

The rescue kits include chain slings, round slings, shackles, hooks and carrying cases for easy storage. The kits are built on the GrabiQ chain sling system and include a range of unique features such as integral shortening which allows users a reduced number of components and more flexible use of chain slings. This provides a modular concept that covers a wide set of applications, including kits specially designed for heavy rescue and vehicle extrication. The kits are offered throughout the world by The Crosby Group’s partners, allowing full local customization in terms of length, capacity and auxiliary products needed by the rescue teams.

The rescue kits include chain slings, round slings, shackles, hooks and carrying cases for easy storage.

A kit might include:

• 4 x 2.7m (9 ft.) chain sling (MG1-CL)
• 2 x 6m (20 ft.) synthetic sling
• 4 x RH synthetic sling hooks
• 4 x G209 or 854 bow screw pin shackles
• 2 x metal or plastic hardcase for easy storage

The kits are available in sizes from 6mm (7/32 inch) up to 16mm (5/8 inch) and working load limits up to 10t (22,600 lbs.). Most commonly, 8mm (5/16 inch) or 10mm (3/8 inch) sizes are used, along with appropriately sized synthetic slings and synthetic sling hooks. The products can be combined with any hooks or other fittings in the Gunnebo Industries Grade 100 product range, such as foundry hooks, sling hooks and self closing hooks.

For Fabian Kügele, owner of Stablox, a Crosby partner and distributor of lifting and lashing solutions located in Neu-Ulm in southern Germany, the rescue kits have been an essential part of their offering for years.

“With the GrabiQ, Grade 10 chain sling system, we offer rescue kits for fire departments, rescue workers and the military, to ensure flexible, fast and safe rescue operations. We constantly get the feedback from our clients that the flexibility of the slings is a huge help for them at rescue sites,” explained Fabian.

“The ease of assembling a GrabiQ sling, makes it an outstanding solution compared to other chain sling systems on the market. Plus, it can be used in many different ways along with other innovative components such as the Master Grab. Initially we only offered the kits in Germany, but the word spread, and we now have customers on a global scale asking for the rescue kit, from Europe to Taiwan.”