Rapid Intervention Teams

[90Truck]

hey all. just wonderin what everyone thinks about rapid intervention teams. pro's, con's, however you feel. thanx for the input. stay safe. peace

[wheelshighmopar]

I think RIT or FAST teams are a real good thing in the fire
service. We have a seperate FAST drill once a month just to
train for FAST opperations. I think they are effective because the
Team is allowed to stand by at the fire ground and just waits
for anything to go wrong. The team has all their tools and preplan
ready to go so they don't have to stop what they are doing and
attempt a rescue if they were just a company fighting the fire.
The FAST/RIT also is from an outside company so there are little or
no ties to the fire fighter down cutting down on possible "tunnel
vision".
The only Con I can think of is the time it may take to get there
if they are not dispatched right away or take more time to get there
then the company going interior.

[90Truck]

thanks for the input. i'm writing a paper for my occupational health and safety class and your info is much appriciated.

[FiremedicMike]

The only bad thing about the RIT is being on it

99% of the time (thank god) the RIT isn't used. Another thing I've noticed is sometimes scene command tries to use the RIT for other tasks. It has to be made clear that this should not be allowed. If the RIT is tied up laddering a structure when they are activated, are they really the RIT?

[BGFD21]

This past saturday, I attended a training burn and this question came up. When a mayday is signaled, should everyone who is not involved with the rescue evacuate the building or at least the particular sector? I belive that evacuating everyone would reduce the amount of chaos inside the building, but not evacuating would give you that may more eyes ears and hands. Just wondering what everyone feels on this.

[Halligan84]

The transmission of a "Mayday" should not routinely cause the building to be evacuated. Crews controlling the fire or ventilating need to continue to do so. The FAST will respond to the firefighter transmitting the Mayday as would anyone in his immediate vicinity.