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REAL WORLD MAYDAYS - WHO DOES YOUR RIT/RIC REPORT TO?
Hello everyone, I am looking to hear from FFN with regards to brothers/sisters who have been ACTUALLY deployed during a real Mayday, as the Rapid Intervention Team or Crew. Not during your RIT or survival classes in a drill, but I'm talking about the real deal...
During the incident, using the ICS system, who did you report to? Was he or she in your opinion prepared to manage the escalating incident? Did you report to the Incident Commander? or was it an Operations Chief, Rescue Branch or Rescue Group Supervisor?
And lastly, please explain what you did during the incident and identify any hurdles you had to overcome...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Is the lack of response to this...maybe...a hint that there aren't very many RIT/RIC/FAST activations around the country after all?
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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I have been on a fire scene once where RIT was deployed. It was a mill fire in my former fre district. At the time I was a Lieutenant and was the officer who gave the initial size up and kept updating the conditions and positioning the various ladder pipes around the building from the roof. This mill is HUGE. The fire was primarily located in the roof area with some extension to the boxes of cloth and walls in the interior. (we estimated the fire in acres due to the large volume of fire, see my photos on my page) Some 4 hours later I was taking a good breather (I don't remember the amount of bottles I went through) and was ordered to assist command with the south sector of the building. (south sector command) WHile on the south sector We had a firefighter who was injured (broken ankle) inside the building. The firefighters partner was able to assist the firefighter in self ambulating from the building. Due to the large size of the building and the extensive lines throughout the fire scene, (6 lines of 4" LDH all with their own water supply, both municipal and drafting. One for each ladder pipe, and one for the north and south sector attack lines) the RIT team was summoned to extricate the firefighter from the other side of the building and brought to Decon and then the EMS personnel on scene. The IC handled the call perfectly, and didn't hesitate to put the RIT to work.
Granted this example isn't the one your looking for, but it is a case where RIT was used on a scene. We were fortunate at the time that a neighboring Dept (Old Mistic CT about 9 minutes away) has a rescue and firefighters who are either equipped or trained in RIT and they are designated RIT for most of the buiding fires in the area. It allows the local departments to concentrate on supression.
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I do agree with what you say Ben. In the volunteer section of firefighters (myself included in this bracket) you notice a lack of RIT training, or teams forming to provide protection in the case of a downed firefighter. The lack of teams, equipment and training can definately lead to less responses.
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Permalink Reply by Don Zimmerman on
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RIT reports to IC and is assigned to that task, they should be mobile and be at the ready to the location where they can get in and get crew out in the least amount of time. If that means they travel as the interior crew travels then so be it, they are assigned and have no other duties other than RIT. If a big structure then there may be more than one RIT and they might be assigned to the division level, but they still have no duties other than RIT.
I reported to the IC with my crew. The IC's management of the incident had nothing to do with RIT. Once assigned to RIT I have one and only one assignment.
After incident we made sure we had tools enough to be reassigned as an truck company crew and returned to station.
Hurdles, we had none it went rather smooth for us. Crew had issue inside we went in and helped them get out fast and effectively.
One thing, in department I was at at that time, RIT training was pretty intense on just nearly carrying the kitchen sink up to the fire. 3-4 man crew, we showed up with 2 power saws, 2 irons, wreck bar or 2, 2 extra bottles, big lights for each of us, each a radio. Some days I swear it looked like we were going to war with so much gear for that many.
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Siren,
A great deal of my master's degree involved scientific data analysis, especially statistical assessments. I hated every minute of it - and I use the science and the statistics more in my current job than any other technical part of my degree.
We have lots of hearsay and urban legend in our profession. One of the things my degree and my classes at that former women's college in Emmitsburg have taught me is to watch Dragnet re-runs a lot and repeat "Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts." as a mantra.
I don't know every reason for the relative lack of RIT success stories, but my personal guess is that it's a combination of chiefs being more sensitized to keeping the troops out of Born Losers, individual firefighters being taught personal survival tactics, and the need to staff RIT requiring chiefs to have more manpower respond to working fires than was previously the norm.
I also think that the Phoenix study regarding the Southwest Supermarket fire and multiple LODD incidents like the ones in Worchester and Charleston have sensitized many of us to how easy it is for us to die at a fire, regardless of how much help we have at the scene. Hopefully, that's the case. I'd hate to think that all of those brother firefighters without the rest of us being able to learn from what went wrong. I have a great deal of respect for fire departments that are open about LODD incidents. Given our firefighting culture and the prevailing legal environment, that takes a lot of guts.
Your comments about passive RIT are well taken. That's why using On Deck with at least one additional company staged is the answer, at least IMHO. That way if you're dressed and ready to go, if another critical assignment comes up, the On Deck company gets it and the staged company moves up to On Deck/RIT.
Ben
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The vast majority of things that go wrong and kill us at fires go bad in the first 20 minutes.
If the first-due department (or the second, or the third) doesn't have enough manpower to staff RIT, and a special RIT response is required from 4th-due or farther away, it may not matter if you have RIT or not.
If RIT is 20 minutes or farther away, then it's not really rapid, it's not really intervention, and it's questionable if it's a team.
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Got union?
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We haven't had to activate RIT...yet...but our SOG has RIT reporting to the Incident Commander. If the incident is large, we have the option of assigning a RIT group supervisor that doesn't go interior. That way, if RIT activation or multiple RIT activations are required, the RIT group supervisor runs the RIT response and the IC runs the rest of the scene, ensures that the firefight is uninterrupted, gets a PAR from uninvolved companies on a 2nd radio channel, and ensures that uninvolved companies perform their original assignment.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Come to the site to find this old post at the top of the discussion forums. Well, after 4 years, a bump reply is due.
In August of 2006, I was a member of our RIT team for a MAYDAY, and unfortunately, a LODD. Our protocol is the third engine at a fire is the RIT team. At the time of this fire, the dept was transitioning to MDTs in the rigs and phasing out the paper printouts. (you knew you were going on a call if you heard the printer before you heard the tones)
The tones dropped for a structure fire and 2 engines were dispatched, not the 3. I was at the station with the Battalion Chief, and hence the only reason we knew there was a fire. The address was actually on the third in border between our engine and the next third due. There was a mixed crew that day so there was some confusion who was going. I went to get a radio to listen, no printout, but checked the MDT and the status said DISPATCHED........this was the only way we knew and we were a bit late getting out of the station.
We got on scene and protocol is to deploy RIT equipment closest to the entry. We no sonner just set down the equipment went a backdraft occurred and MAYDAY was called. As RIT we reported to the IC and were deployed. I would say the IC was "prepared" to handle the incident, but there were many lessons learned afterwards. We stayed on the same radio channel and eventually the rest of the crews switched to another channel, keeping the MAYDAY on the original channel.
Some hurdles were the main entry route was fire filled and making entry there was not an option. A service door was used and stairs to the basement were located through the garage. The two FFs calling the MAYDAY fell to the basement after a floor collapse.....one was able to get out....the other fell into a room with no windows and the only door was now blocked by fire and floor debris. Several attempts were made to extinguish the fire, but to no avail. Wall breach was attempted several times, only to keep hitting stone or concrete. There was a small stud wall space that wasn't located to be breached prior to crews being pulled due to sagging floor joists and deteriorating conditions.
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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John, I was as surprised as you were in seeing an older post revisited by the webmaster. 4 years have passed and we all have more experiences to share. Thank you for sharing your unfortunate incident, I am sure you and the other brothers made every attempt possible to save your brother. Many things can be learned from all pretty much all incidents. With RIT deployment being few and far between, the first thing that I thought about was the importance of sizing up the building so the RIT or RIC knows alternative or more direct routes to as many areas of the building possible instead of just focusing on the primary access point. Knowing where they are and pre-knowledge of whether they are locked before RIT deployment can be critical when time is sensitive. Thanks for sharing. Godbless
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Well said, Bill.
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