May 2008

How often do we say lets get “back to the basics?”  Well, what about getting back to the basics of rapid intervention.  So often in the fire service today we focus our attention on new, advanced technological ways to do things.  We need to realize that the basics must be mastered before going advanced and technological.  Outlined below are a few basics rules to follow for self survival and rapid intervention. 

WHO CARES WHAT IT’S CALLED

Don’t worry about what it’s called.  If you are spending your time arguing what it is called then you need to reevaluate.  Call me RIT, RIC, or FAST…I know what my job will be, no matter the title.

KNOW YOUR PERSONAL SURVIVAL GEAR

Every firefighter should hold themselves responsible for carrying the appropriate survival equipment and knowing how to use it in an emergency setting.  Everyone knows a fellow brother or sister that believes there bunker coat should be a toolbox.  Unless that tool is going to save my life you won’t find me carrying it.

The minimum survival equipment every firefighter should have is two hand lights, at least one set of wire cutters, door chocks, and bail out rope.
 
KNOW AND CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT

It is each individual’s responsibility to know their equipment.  Know your RIT equipment….check it each morning…know its location…check your own equipment on a daily basis…if not more often…

MANAGE YOUR PASS ALARM

Next time you are on the fireground or at a training session just pay attention to     the number of times you hear a PASS activating when it’s laying on the ground or     in a firetruck.  Over the past two years I have noticed more and more of    inappropriate PASS activations.  People have grown so accustomed to shaking   when they here the alarm that even when they are in a Mayday situation they   continue to shake to prevent the PASS from activating.  Here’s the bottom line,     control your PASS.  When it should be activated, activate it; if it shouldn’t be     activated make sure it doesn’t.  An incident in Ohio about ten years ago     firefighters were recorded on video not responding to an activated PASS alarm for   over nine minutes because they became complacent of their PASS.  The     firefighter subsequently died and burned to death.

MANAGE YOUR AIR

If you study LODD’s you find that most fireground fatalities are associated with the lack of an air supply.  There are several air management courses out there and    I would certainly recommend for every firefighter to take one.  First, making sure   your SCBA is full when coming on duty and then learning how to manage your     air appropriately.  Become so familiar with your SCBA that you are on your way    out of the IDLH before the vibraalert sounds.

DON’T OVERLOAD YOURSELF

Here is the bottom line with this…the most difficult part to a firefighter rescue is   locating the down firefighter.  So don’t overload yourself with useless equipment…remember, most fireground deaths are a result of some type of   asphyxiation, so if you can find them and give them an air supply you will save them…you must have a tag line, an air supply, a thermal imager, and some type     of bar…

DEPLOY FASTER

If you find yourself commanding an incident and a MAYDAY is called     immediately activate your RIT.  Immediately after activating the RIT gather as much as information from the downed firefighter as possible and then assure that    the RIT received the information.  If you asked me a couple of years ago, I    certainly would have said make sure you have all the information before    activating the RIT.  However, through hundreds of classes I have come to the conclusion that it takes an average of 2-4 minutes for the RIT to enter the building     after being activated.  If you don’t activate them initially you average time to    enter the building rises to 4-7 minutes. 

BASIC SEARCHES

Of course there are several ways to search a building especially a large building.     But, if you are searching for a downed firefighter there are three basic things you   should be doing.  First and foremost you must be using a tagline, this will ensure   the other crew can find you rapidly and you will have a direct path of egress. Secondly, after entering a building you should be listening for the PASS alarm in  even if it means breaching walls, going upstairs, etc.  Thirdly, if a PASS alarm is   not audible you may choose to do a basic right or left-handed search.  This search    technique is ok but an audible PASS alarm is much more effective.

CALL YOUR MAYDAY EARLY

Calling your MAYDAY early has become the standard after many years of    calling too late or not calling at all.  If you are low on air, trapped, disoriented, or lost you should be calling a MAYDAY immediately.  You should continue to make attempts of self-rescue.  After calling your MAYDAY make sure you     activate your PASS and activate your emergency identifier on your portable radio.   If you are able to self-rescue, notify the incident commander to stop the RIT activation.  We always say it’s better to have them on the way and not need     them. 

TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN

It is imperative your company and chief officers do all they can to ensure that    their staff receives RIT training.  There is no reason any firefighter in the Nation especially in the Commonwealth have not received a course on the basics of    RIT. 

Make sure your firefighters are spending time studying Line of Duty Deaths. It is each of our responsibility to not allow our fellow brothers and sisters die in vain.

Even though we have made great advancements over the past decade or two it seems that we tend to overcomplicate certain aspects of our job.  A large part of this comes from not mastering the basics before we move on to bigger and better things.  YOU must master the basics before advancing onward.  Remembering and training on the basics will greatly increase your chances of living through a MAYDAY situation.