RIT considerations
I would like to offer several considerations with regard to the rapid intervention team (RIT).
Unless a situation arises in which the RIT officer is needed for firefighter life safety or is requested by a higher ranking officer, the best location for the RIT officer is at the command post with the incident commander (IC). All information about the fire building, progress of the engaged units, collapse or potential collapse, changing fire conditions, and the sudden transmission of a mayday or urgent message from a distressed firefighter will be channeled to the IC. The RIT officer will be able to absorb all this information as it is conveyed to the IC. If the RIT officer is positioned elsewhere, that officer will be unaware of what is unfolding at the command level. Summoning the RIT team officer back to the command post to get briefed on the emergency situation will be chaotic and time consuming; precious time would be lost. Trying to relay this information by radio will tie up communications on the fireground and possibly interfere with additional mayday or urgent messages from firefighters in need of help.
If a size-up of the fire building is needed, two radio-equipped members can do a rapid but thorough survey of the building and report back to the RIT officer. By implementing this practice, the RIT officer continues to receive information at the command level and can rely on his members to gather important information about the fire building–including the presence of fire escapes, building construction, hazards, dimensions of the building–and other critical information relevant to the operations.
With regard to collapse zones, potential collapse, and defensive/offensive tactics, a safety chief or officer should assess these safety aspects. The primary purpose of the RIT is to ensure the safety of operating members only. We cannot allow these rescue members to get involved in extended operations for small assignments or tasks that will inherently cause them to get tunnel vision and forget their primary responsibilities–not to mention the debilitating and exhausting effects these “little jobs” can cause. Can RIT members help in establishing safety zones? Absolutely! However, all members must operate in close proximity to the fire building and be ready at all times to intervene in case an emergency arises.
When the IC determines to change tactics from defensive to offensive, it is his responsibility–not the RIT officer`s–to consider the many factors involved before allowing members back into the fire building. The IC controls all tactics. This by no means is to say that the RIT officer cannot lend some input to the IC in making these tactical considerations, but ultimately the decision rests on the chief`s knowledge and experience.
After any master stream defensive attack is made, adequate time must be allowed for water runoff to alleviate the building of the tremendous overloading resulting from the volume of water pumped into it. Members should not be allowed to re-enter the building immediately to operate. Again, allowing the RIT team officer to get involved in this kind of decision making limits his attention to the real reason for the RIT team–firefighter rescue.
A personnel accountability system is a great tool in determining who is operating and where. When things go wrong on the fireground, it is almost impossible to find out how many firefighters are involved and where. A sudden change in conditions creates chaos; determining where members were last operating or seen can help to calm the situation. The personnel accountability program can instantly provide this information to the RIT officer–another reason the officer should remain at the command post, where all accountability measures are undertaken.
Part of the IC`s debriefing of the RIT officer should include a review of all accountability tags, to familiarize the RIT members with the names and locations of firefighters or companies operating in the building. If this information is presented to the RIT officer, the rescue attempt will be expedited because of the officer`s preplanning. Close proximity to the IC is the only way to gather the correct information in an organized manner.
Using aerial apparatus is an excellent example of proactive thinking in terms of preparing for the worst. Instead of relying on the RIT officer to recommend to the IC that portable ladders or aerial towers be used, the department`s SOPs should provide that the RIT team act in a limited manner as a “safety team” prior to being used as a rescue team. There is nothing wrong with using these members to prepare the scene for what may happen. If a member were to show at a window in distress, the ladder could already have been raised, allowing for a more immediate rescue. In these life-saving scenarios, every second counts. Whenever we can eliminate seconds of operating time, we must do so. We have an obligation to our brother and sister firefighters to ensure the most rapid professional rescue attempt to save their lives.
Time on the fireground has always worked against us. We can never get to the scene quickly enough. Inherently, firefighters have always been aggressive in their duties to protect civilian life and property. Why should we be any less aggressive with our own? We should not assume that all problems occur later in the operations. Flashover, for example, usually takes place in the beginning stages of the operation .U Don`t wait for a problem to occur U. Progressive actions should dictate that the RIT be dispatched on confirmation of a working fire.
Tools and equipment play a vital role on the fireground. In relation to the RIT, the tools initially taken into a structure should not delay or weigh down the team in searching for a firefighter in distress. The initial complement of tools should be able to do the needed job and, at the same time, it should be lightweight and easy to carry. The primary responsibility of the RIT team is to locate and extricate the firefighter from the building as quickly as possible. If the extrication process is going to be an extended operation, additional tools can be requested along with additional RIT teams. Don`t take every tool on the apparatus into the building initially. Take tools such as the halligan, flathead and pickhead axes, pike poles, and search ropes. Additional tools can always be brought in later as needed. The RIT team should rely on safety chiefs or sector officers to get the tools needed to get the job done.
The RIT team may not be enough in some circumstances. Additional alarms or mutual aid should be called. Additional chiefs or officers may be needed to manage the intense scene. Additional firefighters may be needed to carry out numerous objectives dictated by the commanding officers. Sectors should be managed by supervising officers and information relayed to the IC for tactical considerations U.
Lawrence M. Cohen
Fire Ground Technologies
Nanuet, New York
