BY CRAIG H. SHELLEY AND AL HUELSENBECK
Much has been written lately regarding rapid intervention teams (RITs) at structural and nonstructural incidents to which the fire service responds, and many fire departments train in the RIT concept. But, how much thought has been given to RITs in the marine environment? Marine responses are low-frequency events that present challenges and significant risks to the largest department. Do the land-based firefighters who respond to marine emergencies have a plan for placing the proper number of RITs in place? Are the proper tools available for RIT response? At recent training symposiums conducted by the Hampton Roads (VA) Marine Incident Response Team and the Tri-State Maritime Safety Association through the Delaware River and Bay Marine Firefighting Task Force, the RIT concept was extensively discussed. Out of these training events came the following guidelines and suggestions for developing and using RITs in the marine environment.
A COMBAT POSITION
 The command post may be a distance from the point of operations at a marine incident, requiring that the RIT teams be strategically positioned onboard the vessel. (Photos by Craig H. Shelley.) |
RIT members should understand that they hold a combat position. Many firefighters think that being on the RIT removes them from the firefight. This is far from true! The RIT needs to start thinking and working even before the alarm is sounded. Proper training induces the firefighter to think in the combat mode, to explore questions such as, Why do we have RITs? How could the outcomes of firefighter deaths and injuries be changed with a properly trained and used RIT?
SIZE-UP FROM THE RIT PERSPECTIVE
The time to think about a RIT deployment is not when the incident turns sour. A RIT should be assigned as part of every marine response. When the alarm is sounded and your unit is designated as the RIT, you should begin your size-up of the incident from the RIT perspective. While en route, monitor the radio and obtain the following information:
- Type of ship. Determine the type of ship so you can visualize its layout. If it is a cargo ship, does it have dry bulk or containers? Is it a tank ship? Is it a passenger ship with many berthing compartments? Once you can visualize the type of ship, you will be able to develop a plan of action for when the RIT team arrives at the scene. Knowing the type of ship will also help you determine the kinds of tools you will have to carry onboard.
- Location and extent of the fire. Where is the fire located, and where has it spread? Does the fire involve cargo? Is the fire in the engine room? What procedures are in place to limit the fire’s spread?
- Location of the ship. Is the ship at berth? If so, is it the ship’s regular berth? The ship’s regular berth will indicate that there is adequate water depth and that you will have services available to assist with firefighting activities. If the depth of the water is not adequate for the ship, the ship’s stability may be affected during firefighting operations; equipment to offload cargo, if needed, may not be available; and there may not be enough room on the pier to position firefighting apparatus. This raises the question, What would happen if aerial ladders could not be positioned for emergency egress from the affected vessel? How would this factor affect RIT operations?
Is the ship at anchorage? How would this fact affect the deployment of firefighting forces? Would the incident commander (IC) be more inclined to use available boats to transport attack firefighters or RIT firefighters to the burning vessel? The RIT may have to arrange its own transportation to the vessel.
 RIT equipment and supplies may have to be palletized and be raised to deck level using the ship’s mechanical equipment. |
If the ship is underway, access will be limited. Are your firefighters trained in boarding a ship underway using a Jacob’s ladder and gangway? What about your equipment? How will you get it onboard?
Remember, the RIT is a combat position and should be treated as such. Firefighting on the vessel should not be undertaken without a RIT in position onboard the ship. Attack and RIT teams should be positioning themselves simultaneously.
- Special hazards. What special hazards might be encountered at the incident? Is the ship carrying a cargo of mixed chemicals? Will the RIT need chemical suits or air-monitoring equipment? Is a haz-mat team part of the initial response and available to support RIT operations?
RIT’S ARRIVAL ON-SCENE
On arrival at the scene, the RIT should observe the strategies being used, in particular in the following areas:
- Positioning of lines. Where are the hoselines operating, and what sources of water are being used? If one source of water fails, what impact will it have on firefighting crews? When operating below deck on a ship, there is no window for bail out. Where would the RIT get a hoseline? Does the RIT sector need to establish its own water supply?
- Water supplies. What are the water supplies? Are you using the ship’s system (not recommended for attack), or is the fire department supplying the hoselines using a yard hydrant system? Are you using auxiliary sources of water such as commercial tugboats or fireboats? Are you drafting? You need to ask how a failure of any one source can affect firefighting and rescue operations.
- Waterside activities. What is happening on the waterside of the operation? Do you have rescue boats in position in case someone falls overboard? Do you have a boat to provide the IC with information about conditions on the waterside, especially draft readings? Are you able to communicate with these outboats using your frequencies? Do you have marine VHF frequencies available to communicate with these outboats?
- Shoreside activities. What is happening on the shoreside? Are aerial ladders in position for firefighters’ emergency egress? Can you position aerial apparatus? Are RIT resources available to assist firefighters who are operating near the vessel and pier
- Location of command post. Does the command post have a view of the ship? In many cases, this will not be possible because of the number of persons needed at the command post. The post may be located inside a structure near the burning ship. If the ship is underway, the command post may be on shore.
When observing the command post, consider the following:
- How is the IC doing? Is the IC calm and in control? The IC sets the tone of the operation. If the IC is not in control, chances are that those below him will not be in control. Does the IC know where his forces are operating? Can he provide information to the RIT if it becomes necessary?
- Observe the command board. Where are units positioned? What strategies are being used?
- What accountability system is being used? Is it in place?
- Observe the fire control plans. Have they been brought to the command post?
- Rehabilitation (rehab) areas. RIT officers should observe firefighters at rehab areas. The firefighters’ conditions will give an indication of the conditions being encountered below deck. Firefighters’ increasing fatigue leads to an increased risk for injury and may create a rescue situation. How far do firefighters have to travel just to position themselves to attack the fire? Many marine fires require that firefighters exert themselves the equivalent of what it would take to stage to fight a fire on the 15th floor of a high-rise. This could significantly add to fatigue before operations even commence.
RIT POSITIONING
At marine fires, the RIT sector will be large. A RIT should be positioned at each point of entry to the ship’s interior. A rapid intervention company-engine (RICE) should be positioned with the RIT at the entrance at which attack hoselines are operating. This engine company should have a charged hoseline from a water source other than the one supplying the attack hoseline.
A RIT equipped for water rescue should be positioned on the waterside. The RIT members on the waterside do not have to be firefighters. Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, the police, or lifeguard boat crews should be used for water rescue. They will need to be equipped with radios capable of communicating with Command, Operations, and the RIT commander. The rescue boat must be adequate to rescue personnel from the water. Large fireboats make very poor RIT platforms because of their high freeboard. Their assignment must be only RIT, and they must be under the control of the RIT commander. Nothing must deter them from performing their RIT function. Just as we would do at a structure fire, if the water- side RIT is used for another function, another RIT must replace it.
 Transporting the RIT to marine operations at anchorage or underway necessitates preplanning and ingenuity. |
A RIT should be staged shoreside to ensure the ability to rescue firefighters who may fall between the vessel and the pier.
In all cases, at a large ship fire, RITs should be strategically positioned onboard the vessel, available for rapid response to the emergency location. The RIT should not be positioned only on the pier or dock. The time it would take for the RIT to board the ship will delay the rescue attempt. The RIT members will also be fatigued after climbing onto the vessel. A RICE should be located at every entry point of the vessel where fire suppression teams are located and operating within the vessel or below decks.
TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
Basic RIT tools-one-hour SCBA, search ropes, additional hand lights, axes, and halligan tools, for example-will be needed for marine fires and emergencies. For the marine environment, these tools should include also oxyacetylene and exothermic cutting torches, personal flotation devices, power saws with metal cutting blades, communications systems that include sound-powered telephones, supplied air respiratory systems, rope haul systems, and a full complement of hands tools. A thermal imaging camera is a must! A below-deck rescue is labor- and time-intensive. The tools and equipment that may be needed should be staged onboard the ship. The time to call for the tools from the pier is before a rescue becomes necessary. A boat hook and flotation device are valuable tools for the shoreside team.
TRAINING
Training is essential if RITs and firefighters are to be effective. This requires that teams be trained in marine firefighting that is compliant with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1405, Guide for Land-Based Fire Fighters Who Respond to Marine Vessel Fires. Once trained, these personnel must become sufficiently familiar with the marine environment and commercial vessels.
THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM
There has been much debate about where the RIT should be positioned in the incident command system (ICS). At the recent marine symposiums, it was determined that for large-scale marine incidents, the position of the RIT component should mirror that in the standard ICS system-that is, the RIT commander should be at the command post to monitor conditions at that location and should confer with the safety officer at frequent intervals. The command post may be the only place you can find a set of the ship’s plans. The information on these plans will be invaluable if the need for search or rescue arises. This information can be relayed to the RIT teams being activated. A RIT operations officer should be positioned with the operations chief. He can monitor the progress of operating units and share that information with the RITs in place. Under the RIT operations officer, the RITs are positioned for rapid deployment. Additional RITs can be at staging, but they would operate under the control of the RIT operations officer. In addition, a unified command involving the vessel, the Coast Guard, and the fire incident commander is essential. The IC provides the necessary brain trust to overcome the unique problems encountered in a marine response.
Preincident planning must include RITs. It is crucial that the need for additional staffing for the proper number of rapid intervention teams be addressed early. Firefighters usually are not familiar with marine firefighting techniques and ship construction and most probably would become lost or trapped more easily at an incident involving a large vessel. This limited experience is also true of RITs that will find rescues significantly more difficult than those at the average structure fire. You must plan for such an event and practice the techniques necessary for rescue. You must train using the ship’s ladders, hatches, and doors. In addition, passageway openings may not be flush with the deck. Rescuing a downed firefighter or civilian would be that much more difficult.
The RIT concept is still being developed and defined. As new techniques and tools are formulated, the information should be shared. Remember, the RIT is a combat position and should be treated as such. These teams have saved lives and will continue to do so. No firefighters in the United States have lost their lives as a result of a vessel fire, but there have been many close calls. The marine RIT is an important tool for ensuring that we do not lose any of our own.
CRAIG H. SHELLEY, a 35-year veteran of the fire service, served 26 years with the Fire Department of New York, retiring as the chief of marine operations. He has served as the chief of the City of Rutland (VT) Fire Department and is currently working as a fire protection advisor at Saudi Aramco’s refinery and marine operations facility in Saudi Arabia. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire service administration from Empire State College and is working toward a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University. He has lectured on marine firefighting and safety throughout the United States and is a member of the NFPA’s Technical Committee on training, which is responsible for NFPA 1405, Guide for Land-Based Firefighters Who Respond to Marine Vessel Fires.
AL HUELSENBECK is a fifth-generation firefighter and a 29-year veteran of the Wilmington (DE) Fire Department, where he serves as a battalion chief. He is a member and director of and a senior instructor for the Tri-State Maritime Safety Association’s Delaware River and Bay Marine Firefighting Task Force and its Maritime Incident Response Team. He has contributed to the latest revision of NFPA 1405 and has lectured on marine firefighting techniques throughout the United States. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire service management from the University of Maryland.
