The Firehouse Yak: Gary Coney & Bob Hoff - Rapid Intervention Chief Training - Gary Coney & Bob Hoff

Peter Matthews talks to Capt. Gary Coney from Chicago Squad 2 and retired Chicago Fire Commissioner Bob Hoff about the rollout of the new Responder Intervention Team (RIT) Chief course being offered by the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

Peter Matthews

Bob Hoff

Gary Coney

March 6, 2024

2 min read

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Peter Matthews talks Capt. Gary Coney from Chicago Squad 2 and retired Chicago Fire Commissioner Bob Hoff about the rollout of the new Responder Intervention Team (RIT) Chief course being offered by the Illinois Fire Service Institute on the new episode of The Firehouse Yak.

This is the first hands-on course for chief officers that digs into mayday incidents from the command level with topics including the branches of RIT command, accountability, managing the fire vs. managing the mayday, downed firefighter rescue skills and the aftermath of a RIT deployment. This 50-hour class includes classroom sessions and multiple hands-on scenarios with many sets and reps that allow the small classes to get intense and realistic training.

The course, Coney and Hoff explain, was designed from lessons pulled from multiple mayday scenarios they were directly involved with and incidents from across the country that resulted in serious firefighter injuries, or tragic deaths. The program has been tested by incident commanders from departments large and small, and promises to challenge each participant to sharpen their skills should they command a mayday.

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About the Author

Peter Matthews

Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director

Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.