Article Contributed on: 5/3/2006 12:00:24 PM
When most of us get into trouble, we can call 911 to contact the fire department and other resources. When a firefighter gets into trouble, she relies on her colleagues to save her life.
To combat the rising number of incidents where firefighters become trapped, injured or killed in burning structures, Evergreen Fire Rescue (EFR) hosted a training last weekend on Rapid Intervention Teams (RIT).
For decades firefighters have followed the buddy system when entering a hazardous area. The RIT System is the Buddy System Version 2.0. An RIT is a crew of firefighters specially trained to rescue other firefighters who become lost, entangled or entrapped while suppressing fires and rescuing victims in structures.
Obviously, structure fires are dangerous emergencies. When firefighters enter a blazing building they usually encounter poor (if any) visibility as well as extreme heat. They also encounter hazards such as furniture or shelving that can block their ingress and egress from a room, cables or wires that snag their arms and legs, and weakening floors or staircases that may collapse at any time. The opportunities to get into trouble are everywhere.
When a firefighter does become trapped, she can alert her colleagues over the radio or by activating her PASS device, which sounds a piercing alarm to notify other firefighters of her condition. Time is of the essence as the fire grows and her own air bottle continues depleting. As she fights to free herself, the RIT also activates, searching for their comrade armed with tools, rope and skills to rescue her.
Evergreen Fire Rescue's volunteer firefighters were joined by colleagues from Genesee Fire Rescue and Foothills Fire & Rescue for last weekend's training. EFR Captain Dave Marshall invited firefighters from neighboring agencies so that they could learn from each other to improve everyone's safety. Such training opportunities also provide neighboring agencies with information on each other's capabilities. When the next structure fire occurs, each of the three agencies can request an RIT as well as engine and tender support through their mutual aid agreements.
The volunteer firefighters conducted the training at EFR Station 2 in Bergen Park, utilizing homemade props as well as part of the training tower integrated into the new administration building.