i'm looking for some infos about the history of RITs in the american fire service:when did it begin?who "created" RITs?its organizations?drawbacks and advantages of having RIts in your FD?

i would like to write an article about RITs and to introduce it to some friends who are in the fire service here,in France.we do not have RITs,or at least,non officially.

any help will be appreciated,if you have some links and want to share.thanks in advance.