BY AL RIFFLARD AND JEREMY RIFFLARD
WOOD WEDGES are extremely versatile, but they are not one size fits all. Firefighters use them during forcible entry, vehicle stabilization, and extrication. Technical rescuers use wedges to secure machinery in conjunction with lifting heavy objects, in trench rescue situations, and to add a level of safety when pressurizing vertical shoring.
Wood wedges can be valuable tools in firefighting and technical rescue situations. Here are three common sizes:
- 2-inch x 4-inch wedges (12 inches long). These are very versatile but not as accessible as door wedges.
- 4-inch x 4-inch wedges (18 inches long). These will come in handy when you’re dealing with larger gaps.
- 6-inch door wedges.
Alternative materials like plastic or metal wedges may also be used in certain situations. But keep in mind that these will cost more than wood.
Angles
Door wedges are typically 6 inches long by about IV2 inches wide and cut on an angle (photo 1). When you create wedges, cut them with the length of the wood grain. The angle of the wedge is often 20° to 30°. A steeper 45° angle does not have as much surface contact. If your door wedge is on the floor and it does not hit the bottom of the door, you can stack two wedges, and they will still be very stable.
1. The length of a typical door wedge. (Photo by Al Rifflard.)
Keep or Toss?
Wood wedges are very inexpensive to make. Some departments even consider them disposable. Crews that want to reuse their wedge may have an identifier on them. It could be a color code, a unit abbreviation, or a person’s name (photo 2).
2. Cribbing and wedges are color coded for easy identification. Green ends are for 4-in. ☓ 4-in. wedges and yellow are for 2-in. ☓ 4-in. wedges. (Photos by Jeremy Rifflard unless otherwise noted.)
Gap, Set, and Force
When you’re forcing entry, the wooden door wedge has many uses. When you force a door, you’ll use the phrase “gap,set, and force.” Here’s how it breaks down:
3. A firefighter creates a gap with a prying tool. A wedge set in the gap will hold the gap as he repositions the tool to get it ready to force.
4. A halligan on the wedge will improve prying. (Photo by Al Rifflard.)
5. The wedge over the hinge keeps the door from closing. (Photo by Al Rifflard.)
- First, use the halligan to make a gap between the door and frame. Use the adz on an outward-swinging door and the forks on an inward-swinging door. Once you get your gap, you can use the wedge to capture your progress so you don’t lose any of the space you made between the door and frame (photos 3-5).
- Then you set your tool into the door.
- Step 2 enables you to force it open.
Occasionally, you will come across a door where the gap becomes larger than the width of the throw of the tool. When this happens, you can again use the wood wedge against the outside flat surface of the adz, using it as a fulcrum to force open the door. Once the door is open, control it to minimize the flow path. Before you move in, you can use the wood wedge-over-the-hinge technique to keep the door from slamming shut and locking behind you.
When units respond to a child or pet locked in a car, firefighters want to do minimal damage to the vehicle. A door-opening device can be inserted after a purchase is made between the car door and the B post. Several devices can hold the purchase. Wood is softer and less likely to scratch as compared to a metal or hard plastic wedge. Wood can dimple into heavy or sharp material, which helps keep the wedge in place. When the gap is open, use the door opener to make contact with the door lock.
More Uses for Wedges
Machinery accidents. In machinery accidents, wedges can be used to stabilize vehicles or block out heavy machinery that may move during an accident. In these situations, wedges can stop the compression or rolling movement of the process the machine was created to do (photo 7). Using a wedge also creates a safer working environment for rescue personnel. Refer to lockout-tagout protocols within your department.
6. A wedge placed in the gap of the vehicle door holds the spread so a firefighter can insert a door-opening device.
7. These wedges and 4-inch x 4-inch cribbing are stacked to make contact with the vehicle. (Photo by Al Rifflard.)
Stabilizing vehicles. Placing wedges underneath vehicles can help prevent further movement, which can cause spinal injury to the vehicle’s occupants. In situations where the wedges will not make contact, you may need to stack them on box cribbing. Vehicles that are higher off the ground than a typical sedan may need cribbing stacked to take up the gap before wedges are used.
A common technique for this is the box-shaped crib stack. Each point of contact of the crib stack should support 6,000 pounds. The box cribbing has four points of contact. It should support 24,000 pounds. When 2-inch x 4-inch wedges are used in conjunction with 4-inch x 4-inch cribbing, you must ensure that the upper layer of wedges is supported directly underneath with a 4-inch x 4-inch crib. If the wedge is unsupported, it becomes the weakest part of the stabilization. The narrow taper of the wedge is not as strong as the full 4-inch x 4-inch cribbing (photos 8 & 9).
8. A 2-inch x 4-inch wedge prevents the machine from further crushing the hand.
9. The proper technique of stacking wedges on top of full cribbing.
Comparing Wedges
| 4-in. ☓ 4-in. Wedges |
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Vehicle extrication. You can use wood wedges to hold space created during vehicle extrication. As the rescue makes a purchase point with a halligan or spreader tool, when pressure is released, the stresses on the metal may return at or near its original presentation. To counter this action, after the spread, you can drop in a wood wedge to hold the spread as you reposition the tool for another spread (photo 6).
Lifting. You can use wedges as safeties in the lifting process. You can also use them to redirect the force at a different angle. When you lift heavy objects upward, you must use cribbing to capture the load. You can use wood wedges as shims to level or support heavy objects during lifting operations. They help distribute the load evenly and prevent objects from shifting. A well-used phrase is “Lift an inch, crib an inch.” If the angle of the lift needs to be redirected, wedges can be used under lift bags to adjust the direction of the lift.
Shoring. Wooden shores can support unstable structures, preventing further collapse while rescuers work to extricate trapped individuals. Vertical shores have a header that collects the load and a post that directs the load to the bottom, where the sole of the shore contacts the ground. A pair of 2-inch x 4-inch wood wedges are part of emergency wooden shore construction. Avoid cutting the posts to an exact distance between the header and the sole. Doing so does not provide a warning of shore overloading and failure.
When you use 2-inch x 4-inch wood wedges properly on top of the sole, you have a way to be warned of component overloading and possible shore failure. When you install a pair of wood wedges, the cut side of the wedge should be matched with another cut side. This allows for maximum surface contact. The properly installed 2-inch x 4-inch wood wedges will show cupping. This is when the exposed ends of the wedges rise upward during a crush. You may hear cracking sounds as the overloaded wedges are being crushed. When you see these signs, it’s time to reevaluate the shoring. Without wedges, shores can fail without warning (photos 10 & 11).
10. Wedges redirect the angle of the lift of this round object.
11. A team uses 2-inch ☓ 4-inch wedges as a pair to pressurize vertical shores.
Trench rescue. In trench rescue, you can use 4-inch x 4-inch wedges in several ways. Wedges attached to the trench panel before insertion can hold a waler at a predetermined level (photo 12). After you insert the panel, lower the waler to rest on the wedge. This limits waler movement and makes it easier for you to shoot the horizontal trench shore. In cases of a void or angle between a waler and a trench panel, wedges can make up the gap (photo 13). This is most common when you use inside waler systems. ?
12. In this scenario, 4-inch ☓ 4-inch wedges support the trench waler.
13. Wedges make contact between the horizontal inside waler and the trench panel.
AL RIFFLARD is a captain serving in his 20th year with Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue. He has been a fireground instructor for Palm Beach County and Coral Springs Regional Institute of Public Safety for 10 years, teaching Firefighter I and II, auto extrication, rescuing down firefighters, and live burns. He is a live fire training instructor and has taught officer development courses in South Florida. He has also been an assistant instructor at the Fort Lauderdale Fire Expo.
JEREMY RIFFLARD, a retired captain, has been in the fire service since 1991. He has presented at the Fort Lauderdale Fire Expo, FDIC International, the South Carolina Firefighters Association, and the South Carolina Improvement Conference. He is the lead instructor for the Scaffold Rescue Program and the Structural Collapse Program at the Coral Springs (FL) Regional Institute of Public Safety. He is a technical rescue instructor at the South Carolina Fire Academy and Florida State Fire Academy and the program manager for his company Technical Rescue Training. For the past 20 years, he has been a subject matter expert with L2 Defense for first responders and military urban search and rescue exercises. He is a former technical rescue team captain with the Fort Lauderdale (FL) Fire Department and a former rescue team manager for the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team FL TF-2.
