The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers.

Project SPLAT for June 2010:   “Cribbing!”

Cribbing is a method of building up supporting materials to release pressure off of victims buried under debris.

After an earthquake, tornado or roof collapse, people often become trapped.  Cribbing is a skill that your local CERT members practice and are trained in, however, it may still take valuable time to find the materials and trained personnel to complete all the cribbing tasks in your community.

For the Month of JUNE your local CERT in Millard County will provide cribbing training for all residents.  Look for fliers at the Post Offices in your local area to find out the days and times of your town training.

Cribbing does not take a lot of muscle, and is NOT a skill for only men or boys!  If a heavy bookshelf, freezer, or china cabinet fell in your home, or if a grocery store shelf, a tree or light pole were to fall over and trap one of your neighbors or family members, you could rescue them with this simple, easy to learn method.

You will need a simple 6 foot long x 1" pry bar. This pry bar is also called a “digging bar” or “spud bar,” with a point like a sharpened pencil on one end and a flat end like a chisel on the other.  You’ll also need several pieces of 2x4's, cut anywhere from 12 to 24 inches.  (Too short or too long may not accomplish the job safely or become cumbersome to use.)

By having several bundles of a dozen 2x4 pieces wrapped and stored together along with a cribbing bar, you’ll be prepared, ready for the necessity of cribbing fast! This could possibly be the difference between laying under debris waiting hours or days for help and escaping with only minor injuries.  You’ll also need to learn how to build a “fulcrum” for the cribbing bar to lift the debris safely.  We will be demonstrating this procedure at our public training this month.  It is important you build up the materials evenly so the debris does not shift and further injure the victim.

Do you remember the victims who were trapped under debris in Haiti?  The locals had no shovels, pick-axes or cribbing materials to help the thousands of people trapped!  They simply waited helplessly as the victims died by the hundreds, first from injuries, then from lack of food and water.

Project SPLAT is brought to you by the Millard Co. Sheriff and CERT!