BY CHRIS WHITBY
I recently heard the following dispatch; the names have been changed to protect the guilty: “Attention Department 3: Mutual aid re-quests, from department 53-58, one RIT [rapid intervention team] to the scene of a structure fire, Main Street, USA.” After a few short minutes, Department 3’s chief replied: “Control, 03-1: Be advised, we don’t have a RIT.” After a brief pause, the control center dispatched a RIT from Department 26, which was three districts away. It took that department 10 minutes to respond; add also the initial delay of Department 3’s dispatch and refusal to respond.
Let’s look at the overall responsibility of the RIT, also known as FAST (firefighter assistance and search team), and the type of training needed for each.
 1. Photos by author. |
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Eliminate or reduce the hazards that may trap a firefighter or hinder escape. This requires size-up skills and a proactive safety awareness. On arrival, the RIT leader should conduct a size-up of the structure and note any hazards that may hamper victim removal, such as security bars, child safety bars, or limited access because of gates or doors that may need to be forced. Another good practice is to ladder all four sides of a structure. If elevated removal is needed, the RIT will just have to make a ladder adjustment instead of wasting time finding or raising a ladder. Should these or other conditions be found, they should be removed or corrected immediately. The RIT can perform these simple tasks.
Immediately assist a firefighter in need. This requires a crew trained in search and rescue techniques for a lost or trapped firefighter. Generally, when one of our own calls for help, the conditions have deteriorated severely. This is the reason it is important for the RIT to maintain a position near the structure, which will facilitate a rapid response should a fellow firefighter call for help or be reported missing. (See “Managing the Mayday,” by John F. Coleman and Rick Lasky, Fire Engineering, January 2000, p. 51).
Rescue a lost or trapped firefighter. This requires personnel trained in victim removal and rescue techniques. One major difference in removing a civilian as opposed to a firefighter is the extra weight of firefighting equipment. Prepare for this task through continual hands-on training in firefighter removal techniques such as drags and carries. (See “Saving Our Own: Approaching a Downed Firefighter,” by Rick Lasky and Rick Kolomay, Training Notebook, Fire Engineering, September, 1997, p. 14.)
How do these duties compare with those of normal firefighting? “Eliminate or reduce risk” sounds a lot like the duties of the outside truck crew. One of the primary duties of this crew is to perform horizontal ventilation and provide a secondary means of egress by laddering the building.
With “Immediately assist firefighters in danger” and “Rescue lost or trapped firefighters,” if we change “firefighters” to “occupants,” these duties are the same as those of the interior truck crew. These tasks include forcible entry and primary search. Once a victim is located, it is the search crew’s responsibility to remove that person from the dangerous atmosphere. Although many rural departments do not have aerial apparatus, these functions must be assigned and performed.
The standard equipment assignment for each RIT/FAST member at a residential structure fire includes full turnout gear, SCBA, portable radio, flashlight, personal rope, and door chocks. This is standard equipment every firefighter should have (photo 1).
Additional tools that the RIT/FAST should have available close to its operation include a set of irons, spare SCBA, portable saws, a sledge or maul, additional flashlights, six-foot pike poles, search/rescue ropes, and a thermal imaging camera if available (photo 2).
One easy way for personnel to account for all the equipment is to have a RIT tarp. On a standard tarp, paint an outline or a list of all the necessary equipment. Once on-scene, the RIT can spread out the tarp near the structure and ensure that all necessary equipment is at their disposal. (See “Rapid Intervention: Keeping Your Tools Together,” by Rick Lasky, Innovations: Homegrown, Fire Engineering August 2002, p. 112.)
This is all standard equipment to which every fire department should have access, and these are also the same standard tools we use at most of our everyday structure fires. The RIT/FAST is nothing more than experienced firefighters from an engine, truck, or rescue company whose sole responsibility is to rescue a firefighter who has become lost or trapped.
Now, consider the statement of Department 3’s chief: “We don’t have a RIT.” 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!
Thanks to Captain Kevin “Buddha” Predmore, Middletown (NY) Fire Department Truck Company 1 for his assistance in preparing this article.
CHRIS WHITBY is a 15-year veteran of the fire service and the training officer for the Middletown (NY) Fire Department, where he previously served as captain. He is also a supplemental state fire instructor for Orange County and an instructor at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona, New York. He is completing an associate’s degree in fire science at Empire State College.
