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Comment by Jason Hoevelmann on June 15, 2011 at 10:38pm

Dale, thanks and your absolutely right. We emphasize heavily that the main objective in our class is to not need RIT. The majority of our classes is personal safety, identifying possible hazards before they present themselves and self rescue.

The RIT drill is the last thing we do. The drill is to build confidence and teamwork. We introduced the basement window because it requires each person to work as a team to get the victim out and then they must use the skills they learned to get themselves out. This is much harder when they are tired. But, they come out with a reinforced belief in their skills and what they need to work on. Like knowing which side of their SCBA strap their regulator is on. It's the little things.

Thanks again,
Jason

Comment by DALE G. PEKEL on June 15, 2011 at 6:51pm

Thanks for the post Jason. The "Pittsburgh Drill" is an excellent evolution for challenging the rescue team both physically and mentally. It's also great for building confidence as well as identifying limitations.

The harsh reality though is this; If the down FF is found unconscious and out of air the rescue team really only has a 4 to 6 minute window to get them out and administer ALS interventions - That's if we get to the victim right at the point they go down. No FF really wants to confront or admit this (especially if the victim is a friend), but we always need to keep this in the fore front of our minds during any rescue or recovery attempt. Our own air management also plays a major role in this. It's another reason why FF survival training needs to be emphasized and focused on before we move into RIT training - They are similar, but should be considered separate operations.