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Rescue tool 'cuts' concrete
FEMA
A rescue worker pulls a child from a pile of collapsed concrete. Workers now have a tool that will make the process faster.
When earthquakes, tsunamis and other disasters send emergency responders racing to rescue people trapped under piles of rubble, they now have a tool that allows them to cut through concrete with speed and precision.
The device, called the Controlled Impact Rescue Tool, was developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The agency explains that it uses blank ammunition cartridges to drive a piston that generates a high-energy jolt to create a contained hole in the concrete.
Department of Homeland Security
CRIT busted an 18-inch diameter hole through this 6-inch slab of reinforced concrete in just under 3 minutes in an Aug. 30 demonstration conducted at the Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness Conference in Washington, D.C.
The force generated by the tool is concentrated in a localized area, the agency adds, which minimizes the risk that its use would further destabilize the surrounding structure or threaten victims.
In a demonstration of the technology in August at a conference in Washington, D.C., the CIRT busted an 18-inch-diameter hole through a 6-inch slab of reinforced concrete in less than 3 1/2 minutes.
Six of the 100-pound tools are already in the hands of FEMA and more are being rolled out to emergency responders around the country, according to DHS.
The concrete blaster joins a list of high-tech search and rescue tools that have already gained field experience such as the communication grids set up in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the robots sent to Japan this March.
More on search and rescue technology:
- How high tech is coming to the rescue
- High tech goes into action in disaster zone
- Rescue robot made for mine disasters
- Flying car could come to your rescue
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com.
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