Crane with piping used to save lives (5)
I believe the answer is:
hoist
'crane' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'piping used to save lives' is the wordplay.
'piping' becomes 'hot' (I've seen this in other clues).
'used to save' is an insertion indicator (used to store).
'lives' becomes 'is' ('be' can be a synonym of 'live').
'hot' going around 'is' is 'HOIST'.
'with' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for hoist that I've seen before include "Lift up; device for this" , "Wind up" , "Lifting tackle" , "One that could raise" , "Elevate" .)