RIT essentials
In “Basic Essentials of RIT” (Real-World RIT, February 2004), author Chris Whitby gives the example of a department that is toned out for a RIT and responds to the control center that it does not have one, so the control center dispatches the nearest one, which happens to be three districts away.
Whitby goes on to state that when the department chief responded to dispatch: “We don’t have a RIT” that he was incorrect. “With basic firefighter skills and standard equipment, there is no reason our fellow firefighters should have to wait for a RIT/FAST from three districts away to arrive and assist. If Department 3 is not equipped for basic RIT/FAST duties, then maybe it shouldn’t respond to structure fires, either!” The training and ability of firefighters on a RIT far exceed those of structural firefighters. The RIT training is specialized and unique. Firefighters who decide they can be a RIT without any specialized training are a danger to the RIT and the firefighters they are there to save and protect.
I think he is also incorrect in saying that rescuing occupants of a building is the same as rescuing firefighters. Anyone who has spent time in training or in real life trying to rescue a firefighter from a building has learned that rescuing a fully geared firefighter in the interior of a structure is certainly not the same as removing a regular occupant—especially if the firefighter needs to be lifted up stairs or out a window.
My hat is off to all of the RIT members who train above and beyond to protect and save us when we need it. When I am on the inside, it feels good to know the RIT is there if I need it. I would gladly wait an extra few minutes for a trained RIT to be on-scene to ensure my safety and well-being.
Paul Smith
Chief Mechanicstown Fire Department
Orange County, New York
Chris Whitby responds: The chief of Department 3 did state he did not have a FAST/RIT unit and would respond an engine. Then, after a brief delay, Department 26 was dispatched for a FAST. This is what I heard firsthand during the incident in question.
Let’s take a look at the training issue. First, Smith forgot the word “experienced” in front of the word “firefighter” when I referred to a RIT unit. I would never advocate sending five probies on the RIT unit. Of course, we would send the most seasoned personnel available!
Second, let’s take a look at the minimum training requirements for a firefighter. NFPA 1500, Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, states, “All members who engage in structural fire fighting shall meet the requirements of NFPA 1001.” NFPA 1001, Standards for Fire Fighter Professional Qualification—2002 Edition, states firefighters must be trained to “use SCBA to exit through restricted passages, set up and use different types of ladders for various types of rescue operations, rescue a fire fighter with functioning respiratory protection, rescue a fire fighter whose respiratory protection is not functioning, and assess areas to determine tenability.” Now I know these are only a few skills. RIT personnel should also know, but not be limited to, disentanglement skills, rapid egress, advanced SCBA skills, hazard recognition, and confined space awareness, to name a few.
Yes, it is true that removing a firefighter is not the same as removing a civilian occupant. I clearly stated this in the article. Additionally, I also tried to convey that in addition to basic Fire Fighter I training, personnel should also practice and refine their skills. So again, I must ask, if personnel are not trained to handle RIT duties, should they be responding to structure fires?
As for Smith’s statement, “I would gladly wait an extra few minutes for a trained RIT to be on-scene to ensure my safety and well-being,” with OSHA 1910.134 “Personal Protective Equipment” (two-in/two-out rule) in mind, why would he risk the safety of his personnel by calling a FAST/RIT unit that is farther away?
Career and volunteer: unite as one
I have subscribed to Fire Engineering for several years and find every issue informative and useful. As my department’s training officer, it is nice to know that we can go to one source (including FDIC) and receive so many useful ideas and training solutions. However, I have been noticing an interesting trend in Bill Manning’s Editor’s Opinion. He has done his research well and is properly slamming the U.S. government for its lack of interest and support of the fire service. It does feel like we are the forgotten heroes.
I have also been a subscriber to the electronic version of Fire Engineering at FireEngineering.com and use the Discussion Board for some extremely useful discussions. I just cannot get enough information.
One topic that has brought some great angst to me and some of my friends is this constant discussion about paid and volunteer firefighters. As I see it, the real problem in OUR fire service is us, the firefighters. Just take a moment, if you have not had the chance, and look at the Discussion Board under “Discuss this week’s quick vote” and see the comments. With the influence that comes from Bill Manning in his column, he should start to operate on this cancer. Until we as a unified group (sound familiar?) start working as one, why should the government give us anything? It must just seem as though we are a bunch of selfish children who cannot even keep our own rooms clean. If we cannot be trusted with that task, what parents in their right minds would ever trust us with managing billions of dollars?
Now I understand that the folks involved in this discussion are just a sample of what is out there, but we just have to look at the local news in Hartford, Connecticut, to see the effect this is having on our industry. I am disgusted with the narrow point of view that some of my fellow firefighters have about our volunteer service. What is even more surprising is that many of these individuals think that they are better because they receive a paycheck for their service. Collecting a check does not make you a “professional”—it is only one part of the definition in the dictionary. Your actions make you a true “professional.”
When you see the term “fire service” in print, the author is usually speaking about all of us. I know that is how the government perceives us. We are lumped together in good times and in bad.
Fire Engineering should join the battle to put an end to this war and help reunite the fire service. As one body, nothing will be able to stop us!
John Deckers
Division Chief
Avon (CT) Volunteer Fire Department
Lieutenant
West Hartford (CT) Fire Department
Marking the tips of ground ladders
The cover of the February 2004 issue depicted firefighters performing various fireground duties at a scene of a residential fire. This scenario is seen in urban and suburban neighborhoods on a daily basis. Members were shown climbing the ladder to perform roof ventilation. However, if this incident occurred at night, the firefighters may have been in risk of serious injury if they had to scramble for the extension ladder if fire conditions deteriorated.
Several years ago, I was a member of an engine company assigned to help ventilate a deep-seated fire in a similar structure near downtown Houston. Along with a ladder company, we performed our duties and were about to descend from the roof when changing smoke and fire conditions prevented our escape. Firefighters on the ground noticed our peril and put up ladders on the opposite side of the building. We were all able to get down without any injury. Afterward, I recognized the danger that would have been posed if this fire had occurred at night, since heavy smoke totally obscured the tip of the ground ladder.
I requested the top four rungs of all ground ladders be marked with reflective paint or tape for better visibility for emergency and training purposes. This request was forwarded to the Houston Fire Department Joint Labor/Management Health and Safety Committee, which consists of members from the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 341 and staff members of the department. After a short test period at the training academy and various fire stations, all ground ladders were marked with the red/white reflective tape similar to the safety tape truckers are mandated to have on their trailers.
It would seem logical for the National Fire Protection Association to address this safety concern with a new standard. The cost of striping the ladders of any department, whether a large municipal department or a small volunteer department, is small when you consider the alternatives.
Bob Parry
Captain
Houston (TX) Fire Department
School shootings
I have just finished reading “School Shootings” (Roundtable, March 2004), and I think that I have regained enough composure to author a politically correct response to some of the opinions offered. The scenario involved the question, Do we risk our personnel to rescue “several children [who are] shot and bleeding, [who] are inside the doorway about 20 feet down the hallway”? The police are searching the school for the gunman, but the building has not yet been declared secure.
I read the varied opinions and could not help but reread the ones that offered thought-filled negative answers and be absolutely floored by those with automatic answers such as “no.” As I drove to pick up my own son from school, I was still shaken by what has happened to so many members of our fire service.
Since my first days of the fire academy more than 17 years ago, I have heard our members referred to as heroes, America’s bravest, and our society’s most admired professionals. We use slogans like “We’re there when seconds count,” and we issue awards for courage, bravery, and valor. I’ve read and been told countless stories of heroism and felt the sadness involved when these acts of heroism took the life of one of our own.
What I have also seen in that time is steadily increasing regulations concerning the safety of the rescuers. This is exactly as it should be. As the fire service has expanded its scope of responsibility from “simply” fighting fires into areas such as EMS, haz mat, confined space, rope, dive, trench, structural collapse rescues, vehicle extrication, WMD, and so on, we need to keep focused on the importance of our own lives and those of our fellow firefighters.
The shocking part of all of this is that some of us seem to have lost track of one important aspect of our duties: the risk-benefit scenario. We should all know that we should not risk anything for minimal or no benefit—burning abandoned property, let’s say. It is difficult to justify losing firefighters to extinguish a fire in a vacant building that is going to be bulldozed next week. At the other end of the spectrum, there would be, say, shot and bleeding children who may die “when seconds count.”
In no way am I saying that we should charge naked across a grassy knoll at a deranged person with an AK-47. But it is imperative that we still have the courage to accept that those dying children would be worth the identified risk to our own lives. How long do these people think it would take to clear an entire school with a room-to-room search? The police may not give an “All clear” for an hour or more! Do we let the children continue to wait it out for that entire time?
To those who offered responses that involved immediately contacting what should be a combined incident command, I say, thank you. With the officers in charge of police and fire sitting side by side formulating a plan, there should be enough tactical experience to devise a way to, for instance, bring well-armed police officers carrying portable bunkers (ballistic shields) to cover fire/EMS personnel who will perform snatch-and-go rescues to get the victims out of the hot zone. Given, this is the last-ditch scenario. The first plan would undoubtedly involve full SWAT teams with SWAT medics carrying out the rescues, but in this case we do what we have to do to save the children.
As I noticed in the responses, I’m not the only one who feels that I would be a great deal more comfortable with participating in a reasonably even though hastily planned rescue of these children than I would be in attending their funerals knowing I did nothing.
Ed Herrmann
Lieutenant
Boynton Beach (FL) Fire Rescue
The ideas I contributed to “School Shootings” (Roundtable, March 2004) are mine alone and do not reflect the policies or procedures of the Darien Woodridge (IL) Fire Protection District, nor were they endorsed by the district. I do not endorse violating department policies, even though some readers may have interpreted it that way. I took a position that was controversial and based my response on a potential method of approaching this emotionally challenging topic to encourage discussion of “outside the box” solutions. I hope that my comments were not misinterpreted as being representative of district policy or training and that no one developed a negative view of the district as a result of my comments. I was attempting to play the role of “devil’s advocate” to spark conversation and debate. I at no point wanted to negatively affect the district or people’s perception of it.
Christopher Brennan
Firefighter
Darien Woodridge (IL)
Fire Protection District
Airboats for water/ice rescue
What a fantastic article “The Use of Airboats in Ice and Water Rescue Emergencies” by Robert Dummett (March 2004) was! For years, I’ve been trying to show the versatility and safety of airboats for rescue work. Until this article, I’ve hit many brick walls with fire officers and elected officials who didn’t want to open their eyes and ears to the possibilities, versatility, and safety these craft represent. This one article has done more for the credibility of airboats as rescue vehicles than what I’ve been able to do in more than two years of demonstrating airboat use in our area.
In the past two weeks, I’ve received four calls from local fire departments (who before the article appeared thought I was “nuts”) that now would like to learn more about rescue airboat operations and do airboat training. This never would have happened without a superb magazine like Fire Engineering printing such an article. Thanks to Fire Engineering for having the insight to print such an informative and potentially lifesaving article.
Brian Edwards
Supervisor/Divemaster
Sandusky County Search and Rescue
President/Firefighter
Ballville Twp. Vol. Fire Department
Fremont, Ohio
Unsafe operations
On the February 2004 cover, two firefighters are on an extension ladder raised to the roof of a two-story house. The ladder is on a paved driveway, with no obvious ladder tie-offs at the roof and no one footing the ladder. In this day and age when firefighter safety is most prevalent, we still have firefighters neglecting the most basic safety practice when using a ladder.
Tony Staalstra
Sudbury, Ontario
Tom Brennan, technical editor, responds: There is really a short answer to this letter: He is 100 percent correct! As my goal for the past 22 years of my association with Fire Engineering, first as editor and then as technical editor, I try to pick or encourage the selection of pictures of emergency operations that show firefighters doing “things” instead of just looking at a mutual-aid (greater alarm) “loser” of a conflagration that gets the reporters out of their beds to photograph the “big one” at which there usually are no more lessons. The lessons are either learned in earlier photographs or never learned. My goal is to have readers do just what you did—discuss the activities and critique as if it were your own shift, department, or area. In trying to “catch” the early arrival photos, you almost never catch everything right and hopefully just mostly capture the best we can do. On the positive side, this photo is going into my arsenal to use when I argue for staffing levels in bargaining sessions. But in the final analysis—as one firefighter who loves the job to another—I just missed it.
