In our recent post titled All Jacked Up we included a lot of technical information about the three most commonly carried jacks. It is important that we know the capabilities and limitations of our equipment. It’s handy to have all this information in one place for a quick reference or studying purposes.  Here is a way to keep all the technical information in one place by making a laminated “cheat sheet” or quick reference card. Below is the list of equipment and technical information on the cheat sheet pictured. You can easily design your own based on your department’s specific equipment and needs.

High-Lift Jacks

• 60” and 48”
• Lift height= Total height minus 10”
• Base rotates and accepts 5/16” chain
• Base is 7” wide to accept two 4X4’s
• Shear bolt breaks at 7,000lbs. Max load=4660lbs. (2660lbs for the last 12” of the 60” jack)
• Lifts 7/8 of an inch each ratchet. M/A=40to1
• Top clevis rated at 5000lbs.

Paratech Vehicle Stabilization Kit (VSK)

• 2 short- 47”(4ft)-60”(5ft)
• 2 long- 68”(5ft)-96”(8ft)
• 10,000lbs max w/ a 2to1 safety factor
• Heads accept a 3/8” chain
• 45-60 degree angle is ideal

Liftbags

• 6 bags- 12,17,21,31,35, and 2.8 ton, set at 118psi
• Bags will only lift full rated load 1”
• Measure surface area of bag (in inches) touching load and times by 118 to determine current capacity

Petrogen Torch

• 1.5 quarts of non-ethanol gas, only fill 2/3rds full
• Tip size 0 (zero) cuts up to ¼”
• Use tip sizes 81 or 83 for material greater than ¼”
• Set gas and O2 at 20psi
• Start up: Set pressures, purge O2, open O2 valve ½ turn, Open gas till fine mist, purge O2, light, inner blue flame 3/16”

Hydra Ram

• 10,000 lbs. of force w/ 4” of spread
• Inward doors of metal construction

Team Search Bags

• Main line bag: 200ft of 9.5mm Kevlar coated poly rope
• Rings and knots every 20ft, number of knots times 20 will tell FF how far down the line they are
• 3 retractable line bags: 20ft of 6mm Kevlar coated ploy rope