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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on July 2, 2008 at 9:22pm

I'm not sure that EPIRBs are a great idea for interior firefights.
The strobe won't be visible except from very close by in heavy smoke, and it will cause major glare and disorientation problems when it is deployed in lighter smoke.

Type I and II construction eats radio signals, and EPIRB signals are no different.

The EPIRB may just be an expensive way to give your department a false sense of security.

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Permalink Reply by norm summers on July 2, 2008 at 9:30pm

We've just finished putting 36 ff through a rit/self rescue course.3 days of pretty intense training , but no negative feedback.We hope to put through about 200 ff in the next year and a half with our neighbouring dept.It should be mandatory for all.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on July 2, 2008 at 9:51pm

I have a different perspective than most of you. RIT training and SOPs/SOGs are widespread. The training is great. The equipment is awesome. And...RIT is rarely effective. If RIT is effective, why don't we hear about firefighters getting saved by RIT teams every day? The fact is, and as Phoenix and other departments have showed with studies, RIT simply doesn't work most of the time.

Having 2 firefighters stand there with their gear on is going to result in an understaffed RIT unit that is already heat-stressed prior to going to work, especially in the summer.

Having 2 firefighters work on forcing the Side C doors, throw ground ladders, etc. is going to result in an understaffed RIT unit that is heat stressed and tired before the Mayday comes in.

Real RIT requires a minimum of an engine, a truck or squad, a Rescue Group leader, and a medic unit. In small or isolated departments, there may not be that many resources left if a full box alarm is dispatched. Having a big county RIT Task Force coming from 20 minutes or more away means that they'll maybe get there in time to watch you overhaul small fires, help you watch you go defensive on big fires, and not be there for most of the emergencies that occur in the first 20 minutes of a structural firefight.

There are a couple of other approaches that can work better than an overdependence on RIT - even well-trained, well-staffed, and well-equipped RIT. First, conduct smart firefights that minimize the chances of firefighters getting in trouble in the first place. Second, train everyone in Preventative RIT. Recognize problems early, call the Mayday when you still have some air left, and use tactics that avoid disorientation. Third, work on an aggressive fire sprinkler code to minimize the number of uncontrolled fires that get firefighters in trouble. Fourth, STAY THE HELL OUT OF BORN LOSER STRUCTURES. If the fire building is coming apart, is flashed over, or is full of 1,500 gases, there is no rescue problem and the building is a lost cause, so don't put firefighters in it.

There are three fire-related things that cause most interior structural firefight LODDS...
1) Disorientation
2) Things fall on you/collapse
3) You fall into something

Disorientation is best prevented by never leaving the hoseline or search rope, even if you have a TIC. There are very rare exceptions to this, such as a fire door closing on the line as happened to one of the engine crews that survived the Charleston 9 incident.

Things that fall on you include entanglement problems that can generally be overcome by carrying small cutting tools for self-disentanglement, or major collapses that are going to be difficult to survive.

Falling into things often drops firefighters directly into the seat of the fire. Surviving that long enough for even a well-prepared RIT team to come save you is going to be a matter of luck, at best.

The most important RIT concept is to tell every firefighter that if you get in trouble that is bad enough to need a RIT team response, your best chance of survival is to be able to save yourself. If you can't save yourself, chances are that a RIT team won't be able to save you, either.

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Permalink Reply by mck306john on July 2, 2008 at 10:34pm

are you able to sned me a copy of the sog's

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Permalink Reply by Justin Lentz on September 20, 2012 at 10:51pm

here is Dallas on all multi alarm fires the RIT is handled by the USAR Task Force. A second alarm gets 1 USAR rig, 1 USAR Truck company, 1 USAR Engine Company, 1 USAR MICU. The 2 stations that are USAR trained are station 15 and 19 that make up part of TX-TF2

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