The development of an effective rapid intervention team within the fire service

Abstract

Since 1990, on average 100 firefighters die in the line of duty each and every year. Countless more are injured; 88,500 in 1999. The purpose of this research was to develop the components of a comprehensive Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) training program with detailed practical training evolutions. Within the fire service the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has become the standard by which all fire departments are judged. Along with OSHA, the NFPA has specific recommendations that address what is needed to comply with their regulations. The OSHA and NFPA standards were created to provide for the life safety of those who work in fire service. These standards are based on what would provide the best possible protection for those working in dangerous situations. This research was performed by reviewing specific firefighter fatalities where a RIT may have changed the outcome. From those fatalities specific training evolutions were created so firefighters can learn what to do it they encounter similar life threatening situation. A search of the World Wide Web was performed to gather information about RIT, RIT training, and RIT fireground activities. An attempt was made to create the necessary Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG's) for a fire department that wished to implement a RIT. Several fire department SOG's were analyzed for their effectiveness and used to create a sample SOG which other departments could reference when implementing a RIT. Fire service journals were reviewed to gather information about the RIT, assist with the creation of the SOG's and aid with the development of the practical training evolutions and lecture training outline.