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RIT/RIC/FAST
So reading an article on another site about RIT from a command perspective, my thoughts vary from the original post. I'll link the post below for those that want to look at it. But, here is my perspective on this topic.
Original Article
http://community.fireengineering.com/forum/topic/show?id=1219672%3A...
While I agree with Training RIT/RIC/FAST teams, some departments take this to an extreme and this is one of the only things that they train on. While neglecting basic firefighting practices. This in my opinion is training your firefighters to fail, It needs to be balanced both on the operations level as well as the command level. A department that I recently did some training with was one such as this. I attended two seperate trainings and each one was some form of Firefighter Down scenario, during my time with this department doing training I asked some of the members what their normal trainings were. Each one told me that each month 2 trainings are geared to either a RIT drill such as the pittsburg drill or the denver drill or going over a niosh report of a RIT scenario. Meanwhile the other two drills a month are one officer drill and one ems drill. I could see if you have 4 trainings a month two of which are geared towards firefighter skills that one per quarter be geared to RIT but having 6 firefigher drills a quarter soley geared towards RIT or FF Down scenarios is just the opposite of what we should be doing.
To me if we train our firefighters basic firefighter procedures or even train them to the firefighter 2 level once they are off their probationary period they will be better preparded to understand what to do in a potential MAYDAY scenario and possibly end up preventing a MAYDAY call.
Just my opinion on the topic, and I appreciate any views off of this statement
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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I can understand part of your sentiment, and you are correct, basic skill work should be common. Basic skill work is the foundation for what we do and how we are going to respond and it also develops the "muscle memory" which becomes the crucial aspect when things go bad. Part of the challenge becomes the basics start to go by the wayside as a common training practice because of the myriad of other things to train on, or new technologies, or the latest and greatest buzz phrases and so forth. Depts can get lost in those aspects and believe their members have the basic skillwork, but maybe they don't.
So when it comes to the dept you trained with that dedicates to RIT scenarios and so forth, maybe not a bad thing as long as they remember that there is still a fire to deal with and to realize that a RIT scenario is going to take more resources than is typically available on the fireground. I see no problem drilling on such scenarios, but when doing such training, get to the basics, and this can and should be incorporated. If you have a FF down, that means you have committed personnel inside, you already established the scenario. So why not satisfy several aspects together in limited training time? You can pulll lines, get the tools out, throw some ladders and so forth to build into the RIT aspect. Then you have the FF down....go through calling the MAYDAY....have the IC deal with the resources committed, activating RIT and so forth. Keep the RIT team to focus on the challenges of the scenario and keep other members to tasks as you would for mitigating the fire. In the end, you could potentially have a much better training hitting on basics as well as muscle memory, which in the end, could be the most important aspects.
I don't really see such dept commitment to RIT training as necessarily a bad thing, it sounds like they are doing hands on, but I would say don't just focus on the RIT scenario, incorporate the basics along with things. When you develop the muscle memory, you tend to react as opposed to letting emotions take over, which no training will ever duplicate. Yet, I do agree that there should be a good balance out there on other aspects of the job and not just focus solely on RIT scenarios, make sure you still cover the basics.
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Permalink Reply by Zachary Wolf on
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I do Agree with you on that RIT training and muscle memory is a good thing, If you dont turn around and go back to the basics some times, all the RIT training in the world doesnt help you if you cant get the fire out.
This same department on a Structure fire had exterior crews putting hose streams in thru windows to "Cool Down" the crew that was working interior on fire attack.
Maybe what I am more trying to push is better training standards for Volunteer And Paid on Call firefighters. While I am in both catagories on the Two departments that I belong to and see alot of the same issues, that I am mentioning on this topic. To me more training should be pushed to these departments that dont have a true training program. In a perfect world I personally would like to see the full time departments that are surrounded by volunteer departments offer to combine some of their trainings with these departments to better the services provided. If you are a full time department and are surrounded by Volunteer departments if you have to call mutual aid or auto aid who is comming to those calls? Its the volunteers. Yes I know that there is the whole stigma between Volunteeers and Paid Staff, at the same time If we actually work together who benifits? The citizens that you serve, the crews that are requesting Aid, and the departments themselves.
I know that this is an age old problem that we have seen time and time again, but come on people its the 21st century can't we all work together by now?
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I get what you are saying here and I can agree, which I why I suggested it is possible to incorporate basic skill work along with some more advanced situational training. So instead of focusing on doing just a Denver drill training, incorporate actions which would lead up to being in such a situation. This would be to pull the lines, throw the ladders, grab your tools, call the MAYDAY and so forth. You can knock out basic skill work along with the RIT.
I agree that training should not just focus on RIT activities and that topics and training can and should be varied and roles can be changed up too. Let a more junior FF take the role of IC and have some older members pull lines and carry and throw ladders. Do radio training, practice doing MAYDAYs, Emergency traffic etc while on air. Have members do a first in report in one room and other members be in another and listen to what is said etc. Yeah I agree, there is much that can be done.....but many things can be "trained on" while working on a more in depth training.
I don't know the circumstances involving the training that you see, just looking at how one can still hone muscle memory skills while covering other types of training. As for working mutual aid and so forth, sure there can be trainings together, but it also depends on many factors that do come into play that can affect coordinated training. For example if the full time dept has several shifts and the volly depts train on only certain nights, it is difficult to coordinate training among all the shifts, as well as, be condusive to outside training times that can affect volunteers. Many times it has nothing to do with a stigma between paid and volunteers, but a matter of coordination and budgetary issues.
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Permalink Reply by Don Catenacci on
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My 2 POC FDs spent a few months intensely training on RIT procedures because we were just starting our RIT teams. It was necessary to dedicate that much training to bring the majority of people up to speed so we could say we had RIT operational. Now we mix trainings between basic skills and RIT skills. We actually do many scenario based drills to allow them to use multiple basic skills and tie them all together.
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