The Jack Strap

There are real problems that arise when rescuing down firefighters and training for firefighter extraction. The Jack Strap is a simple but elegant solution for safe and easy rescue of a down firefighter while maintaining the integrity of the face piece.

The Jack Strap was designed with MSA products in mind, but can be used with any SCBA with brackets. The strap clips into the brackets on the side of the SCBA. The SCBA shoulder and waist straps tend to loosen when a firefighter is being dragged during rescue, whether the firefighter is being the SCBA straps or the DRD. The goal was to keep the backplate of the SCBA and the firefighter closer together so the face piece would stay in place.

The result of a year of trial, error, testing, and firefighter feedback is the Jack Strap. It’s a tool that replaces a useless shoulder strap on a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) bag. The Jack Strap uses heavy-duty carabiners to clip into the SCBA plate brackets. After cinching the strap tight using a cam buckle, the backplate of the SCBA now acts as a mini backboard. There are handles for one or two firefighters to grasp, making dragging easier. On top of that, reflective stitching and tape keeps the Jack Strap highly visible. The Jack Strap brings innovation, simplification, and diversification to RIT deployments and rescues.