FREDERICKTOWN — The Fredericktown Community Fire District recently adopted a new standard operating guideline for a Rapid Intervention Team, similar to the one adopted by the Mount Vernon Fire Department earlier this year. A Rapid Intervention Team is a group of two to four firefighters who are prepared to enter a structure fire immediately, in response to a Mayday called by a firefighter in distress.
A RIT team acts as a rescue team for injured, trapped, lost or otherwise compromised firefighters. The new countywide Mayday system will allow firefighters in distress to send an emergency beacon to other firefighters and the dispatch center, by simply hitting one button on their personal radio. Once a Mayday is called, a RIT team would be sent in to locate and rescue the firefighter who is down.
The new Mayday system in the county should be totally operational by the end of summer. Several county fire departments are now instituting the protocols to address when exactly a Mayday needs to be called, and what needs to happen as soon as that Mayday is heard.
During the RIT training in Fredericktown, firefighters were told that too frequently, firefighters hesitate to call a Mayday as soon as trouble develops. Chief Scott Mast encouraged his people to call for help sooner, rather than later.
“Maydays can always be canceled,” Mast said. “We’d rather cancel the RIT than not have it when we need it.”
Some firefighters have worked for years with the mindset that they should only call for help if their situation has become an overwhelming crisis. Knowing their call for help could endanger fellow firefighters called on to rescue them, some firefighters admit they may find it difficult to call for help until they have tried everything they can to solve the problem themselves. At that point, it may be too late to save a downed firefighter.
Fredericktown Fire Capt. Dwayne Canter, a 16-year veteran, said he is glad a new generation of firefighters is learning the importance of calling for help before a situation becomes unsalvageable. But he acknowledged it is hard to adjust one’s way of thinking after years of doing things a different way.
“The mindset we were trained in before, was don’t call for help unless you absolutely need it,” Canter said. “Now we know to start the Mayday right away, because it can always be canceled if it’s not needed.”
“RIT is designed for firefighter safety, and we are getting more proactive toward the safety of our firemen,” Fredericktown Assistant Chief Larry Schunke said.
Statistically, members of a RIT team operating in an actual rescue, have a 1-in-4 chance of not coming out of the fire alive. Knowing this, the incident commander’s responsibility of who to send in after an injured firefighter is an unenviable task.
Chris Menapace, assistant chief for the Mount Vernon Fire Department, who, along with Chief Shawn Christy, developed the RIT guidelines for his department, explained that each shift, there are firefighters with different strengths and experience who would change that choice. Until an actual incident, who would be sent in is not set in stone.
Team members carry a special RIT PAK, which, while it may vary some by department, usually contains an air pack that can be put on an injured firefighter whose air supply is compromised; an ax and a Halligan tool used to break through walls, floors and roofs; a chain saw and handtools to free someone tangled in wire or debris; and rope and webbing to drag an injured firefighter to safety.
Some county departments with limited personnel and resources could have to rely on help from other departments to assist on a RIT team during an emergency. Bladensburg Assistant Chief Nick Cockrell said that alathough his department is still developing its RIT protocol, he believes that in a mutual aid situation, other departments would be able to assist Bladensburg with forming a team.
Mast said that knowing the MVFD uses the same RIT guidelines would make a mutual aid situation run more smoothly if both departments know what to expect.
Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District Chief Larry Stimpert said all of his firefighters are prepared to be a part of a RIT team.
“Everybody has to be trained on that job,” Stimpert said, adding that he has been working with his people on RIT training for the past couple of years. “Each situation is going to be different.”
College Township Chief Bill Smith said he hopes to have members of his department RIT trained by the end of July, to coincide with the new Mayday system. The radios in College Township are not yet programmed for Mayday, according to Smith, but will be this summer.
Central Ohio Joint Fire District Chief Joe Porter said his department is also anticipating its radios will be programmed for the new Mayday system very soon.
COJFD has 12 firefighters who are RIT trained, according to Lt. Dave Miller, who is a RIT trained instructor. Miller said his department would most likely rely on the help of a mutual aid department to form a RIT team during an emergency.
Mast said that as soon as a RIT team is deployed, the incident commander will call for more mutual aid assistance, at least two engines and an additional squad.
The teamwork that has gone into the new Mayday system is affecting how departments evolve their RIT team procedures as well.
“What I would like to see standardized, is the communication piece,” Menapace explained. “Communication plays a huge role in the success of a Mayday situation, and I feel that the county departments need to continue to strive toward standardization of the communication.”
Preparing for the unthinkable, a situation where firefighters must not only continue to fight a fire, but must also rescue one of their own, is a lesson chiefs are hoping to impress on their firefighters.
“Take this to heart, and fully understand it,” Mast told his department. “Hopefully it’s something we’re never going to need, but if we do — we’re going to have the skills, the equipment, and the knowledge.”