Can anyone tell me?

[Mulldog]

Has anyone seen or heard of an actual RIT team deployment at a scene?
Was it a rescue or a recovery? I am trying to see if the RIT concept is working or if it just another way to get more spectators to the fireground.

[570eck]

I believe the USFA has some Tech. reports or you can try the NFA website. I have heard or many instances of fast/rit being put into effect. A friend was telling me of a case I don't remeber where, but an interior team had come out of a building and not informed anyone and a fast team was activated, the 2 guys who went in after them got hurt real bad or killed can't remeber which, but either way a good reason to have accountability systems in affect.

[FDirish]

I saw a RIT team deployment a few weeks ago. I wasn't on RIT or the one in trouble but it worked well. All crews held their positions while RIT deployed. The firefighter, who got sepereated from his crew, used his radio to describe his location as RIT went in, They ended up finding each other. It was a fairly simple deployment but effective.

Hopefully you won't ever use it for real. RIT and Firefighter Survival courses are paramount and are for the worst case scenario. I hope we never have instructors in RIT that are truely battlefield experienced in RIT use. The less usage the better my brothers and sisters.

[CollegeBuff]

Providence just had a deployment the other day at a working fire. Heard the whole thing. Flashover in the attic, and the 3rd floor sector commander came up one short in his headcount. Fire Alarm started the rollcall and the identity of the missing member was discovered. After he failed to answer to 2 radio calls, command deployed the FAST company to begin a search. They were making their way up the stairs when the member was located by the crews already there, uninjured.

[Firescueguy]

Just heard about a recent deployment in my area of a RIT team during a factory fire where at least a dozen FF's were injured and removed to the hospital. My knowledge is mostly 2nd hand so far from news reports & scuttlebutt but here's what I know:

Factory fire after 11 PM on a weekend, rapid response from 1st due dept. with aggressive attack, multiple RIT Teams dispatched upon transmission of working fire, 3 members got disoriented, RIT deployed, removed all three including 1 unconscious FF, other FF's were injured when partial roof/wall collapse occurred, succesfully removed as well .

While there were some significant injuries, from what I understand, everyone will survive. This particular area relies on multiple RIT teams for working fires particularly for large factories which are quite abundant in the response areas of those depts.

We've also had instances where a FF (even a chief) fell thru a floor & was removed by the RIT team.

Talk to those guys rescued by the RIT & I'm sure they'll tell you they don't think of the RIT as adding "more spectators" to the fireground. Those "spectators" did the job they trained to do & saved their brother FF's from further injury or worse consequences.

Well, that's my 2 cents.....Stay Safe Out There.

[BFDladder3]

I believe that it goes without even saying that RIT/FAST teams are MUCH MUCH more then typically spectators, and honestly question the number of structural fires the question's author has actually been to. With 13 career years in a Northeastern City of 180,000
and 13 years In 2 Active Vollie outfits prior to that I well recall the Hotel Vendome In Boston, Walbalhms Collapse, as well as other bowstring as well as lightweight truss collapses, as well as numerous brothers who over those 28 or 30 years (and before) that might have survived the incident that caused they're demise. I am also realistic enough to realize sometimes Nothing could be done... I have personally survived several flashovers and two backdraft situations and as grow older and less aggile I wonder how long I can get away with it... My department utilizes the RIT concept and I have been Company Officer in charge of the RIT Company Though we did Not have to be used in any of those situations I personally am a firm believer That the RIT should Not be utiized except when either relieved of that duty or otherwise released... It has become common on my job to utilize RIT members and even rotating them as manpower without nessisarily bringing in a fresh RIT... Not that I wanna sit by and watch, but the crew split up and doing differant tasks when a situation occures Needs to be together and in one location, ready and aware from the exterior as well as interior what conditions are...

RIT/Fast Companies need to be a nessesary and integral part of the fireground for our own safety.

after 10 years founding My state's pipe band and playing the pipes at funerals here, as well as attending and playing at functions such as the Vendome Memorial in Boston, Worchester's Cold Storage, as well as attending so many other Brothers funerals you have to realize that having these companies ready to go will save lives... Maybe not every life in every situation, but More then without them...

[downtownlt]

IN the 3 years or so we've been
acting as a RIT we've deployed just
once (thank god) and it was for
a FF who became disoreinted,
our initial entry team of 2
FireFighters found him and led
him out without further incident,

i guess you could consider it a
rutine rescue (if there is such a thing)

but it was the result we where hoping for
when we began our RIT training

[Armyfirerescue]

My vollie company responds as a FAST team automatically for any confirmed fire in one particular district. We only go FAST to that one district, we're close enough to be an effective RIT Team, but far enough away so they aren't taking away one of their manpower companies. Anyway, I got off the subject. We were called as a FAST team to a dwelling fire, typical room and contents, not too bad, we did get deployed though, when a firefighter fell down a set of steps and broke his ankle. The team he was with came out without him, they didn't know where he was (hmm, how could you not notice someone falling down steps?). So we were sent in, he was pulled out kicking and screaming that he didn't need any help, an example of an effective FAST Team deployment I guess. Luckily, he wasn't hurt too bad. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Stay Safe Brothers.
Matt

[Mulldog]

I want to thank all that posted a reply to my thread. Now here was the reason I posted it. I am a career Lieutenant and and a volunteer in the Northeast, I was thinking up ways to drive the RIT theory home during training. I was unable to find any statistics (and brother I looked very hard) on deployments and results of the number of cases. Do I believe that they are spectators?....Hell NO!! Have I seen IC's use the RIT as part of the manpower pool?....Yes.
I threw in the spectators comment only to guarantee people would respond not because I believed it. As tough as it was to have some people question my experience ( I did get a kick out of it though)I forced myself not to reply for 6 months so I could finish this study without going of on a tangent(like you see many threads do).
So thank you very much for the input it has helped me out with case study and please feel free to email me with any other cases you hear about. Be safe.....Mulldog

[snackbar77]

In the 3 years that i have been a firefighter i have not seen our county RIT team go in to save another fellow firefighter. But i have read a few stories about that an RIT team has gone in and saved a fellow brother who had fallen with the RIT pack and it was a successfull save seenin that they had the RIT pack and training for it. So to answer yes it does work.

[firebear91]

I can honestly say that in 5 years experience, I have seen about 10 major Structure Fires. In all of them my department or any department that we mutual aid with have never needed to deploy a RIT TEAM. Although i can say that my department does have an active RIT TEAM and we are always ready to be called in for who ever needs us. One thing that is true that I have read, is that the RIT TEAMS need to have the proper training and equipment to go along with the specialized task at hand. As the LT. on this Team and lead Officer it is not always easy to sit back and wait for something to go wrong with the crews inside and my Team hopes and Prays that we will never be dployed but we will be and are always ready for the worst.

MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU WHO TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS MEASSAGE AND THOSE OF OUR BROTHERS AND THERE FAMILIES WHO HAVE FALL. TO ALL OF MY BROTHER AROUND THE WORLD GOD BLESS YOU AND STAY SAFE.



FF/EMT-B T. YOUNG
FAIRVIEW FIRE RESCUE