Rapid Intervention Teams PDF - City of Miami Fire-Rescue

Volume: Chapter: Originated By: Subject: Date: Standard Operating Guideline Training Rapid Intervention Teams February 2009 (Revised) 01.01 PURPOSE: To establish a method of assigning designated personnel for the purpose of searching for and rescuing members operating within the Hazard (Hot) Zone...

Volume: Chapter: Originated By: Subject: Date: Standard Operating Guideline Training Rapid Intervention Teams February 2009 (Revised) 01.01 PURPOSE: To establish a method of assigning designated personnel for the purpose of searching for and rescuing members operating within the Hazard (Hot) Zone at an emergency incident, special operation, or training activity. REFERENCE: • NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety & Health and CFR 29 Part 1910,134 Respiratory Protection. 01.03 POLICY: (Dispatch of Rapid Intervention Team) A. It shall be the policy of the Department of Fire-Rescue that a Rapid Intervention Team (R.I.T.) be established whenever members are operating in positions or performing functions, including special operations, where they would be subjected to immediate danger of injury in the event of equipment failure or other sudden event. This would include interior fire fighting, confined space rescue, hazardous material emergencies, dive rescue operations, training activities and other similar events. o RIT for Hazardous Materials, Dive Rescue and/or Technical Rescue incidents may be referred to as “Backup Team” or some other name as described in each Specialty Team’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOG) o At the discretion of the Incident Commander (IC), these “Backup Teams” may fulfill the IRIT/RIT role at these specialized incidents, B. At the discretion of the Incident Commander (IC) an Initial Rapid Intervention Team (IRIT) consisting of no less than a 3 person crew should be established as soon as possible at all working fires, or incidents requiring entry into “Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health” (IDLH) environments. C. The IRIT will remain in effect until replaced by the establishment of the RIT. D. A RIT Team will automatically be dispatched on all Code 1's or whenever requested by the IC. Edited: 10/21/10 E. The unit dispatched as a RIT-Team will be the closet 4-person fire suppression unit available. F. If there are no 4-person units available, a rescue unit will be dispatched to augment the 3-person IRIT. G. If there is no IRIT assigned on the scene and no four (4) person suppression unit available, then two rescues will be dispatched to form the RIT. H. The Alarm Office will dispatch as follows, (i.e. “E12 respond as RIT team to working Code 1 fire”) so that the responding unit will be aware of their intended purpose at the scene. I. This unit will give arrival on the dispatch channel using their designated unit number and then advise the IC using the Tactical Channel of their arrival and assignment (i.e.; E-12 “RIT-1"). J. The RIT will be positioned at the Command Post with all necessary equipment, unless the Incident Commander designates another location. K. Reference: E.O.M. Article 1, Section 9 (Lost, Missing or Trapped Firefighter) 01.04 EQUIPMENT DAILY, WEEKLY AND ANNUAL CHECKOUT PROCEDURES: A. R.I.T. Kit SCBA (60 minute bottle) and Mask Regulator will be inspected daily during the apparatus daily checkout. This will be recorded in the Station Journal as part of the SCBA checkout. B. R.I.T. Kit inventory will be verified and inspected weekly as part of the weekly apparatus equipment inventory inspection. This will be recorded in the Station Journal as part of the weekly apparatus inventory checkout. C. Air Truck will inspect all breathing equipment annually checking air bottle, hoses, regulator, and mask assigned to the individual RIT bags. 01.05 PROCEDURE: I. COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE A. The composition and structure of the Rapid Intervention Team(s) shall be flexible based on the type of incident and the size and complexity of operations. Edited: 10/21/10 B. The Incident Commander shall evaluate the situation and the risks to operating teams, and shall provide one or more Rapid Intervention Teams commensurate with the needs of the situation. II. RAPID INTERVENTION TEAM (RIT) The Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) shall be completely outfitted in personal protective clothing with SCBA as well as any other tools or equipment they may need to perform their task of search and/or rescue. As a minimum, the RIT shall carry: • • • Two Radios (tuned to the incident’s Tactical Channel and to the Mayday Channel) Thermal Imaging Unit RIT Kit (as per City of Miami RIT Bag Inventory and deployment guidelines). R.I.T. KIT INVENTORY KMP RIC-Combo Pack • Padded Crawl Bag • 60 Minute SCBA Bottle (4500 PSI) st • 1 stage regulator w / Low pressure whistle nd • 2 stage Lung Demand Valve with 6 ft. of hose • Wye Connector • Mask/ Regulator • Removable Rope Bag with 200 ft Kevlar tag rope (with knots tied into it every fifty feet (50’)) • Two (2) twenty foot (20’) search lines made of Kevlar rope (with knots tied into it every five feet (5’)) • 6 Aluminum carabineers • One (1) twenty foot (20’) Shoulder Drag/ Victim Rescue Strap (2” web) • Rescue webbing pouch with sling link (five ring) • Flashlight which uses two (2) D cell batteries • One (1) eight inch (8”) Large Carabiner KMP RIC Break-a-way -Tool- combo • Paratech Pry-Axe • 18” Bolt cutters • 1 Klien insulated cable cutter • Door wedges (4 each) Note: “Backup teams” for Dive Rescue, Hazardous Materials, or Technical Rescue operations shall use the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) required for the incident. Edited: 10/21/10 III. RAPID INTERVENTION “TO DO CHECKLIST” 1. Monitor Tactical Channel and Mayday Channel during Incident 2. Report to the Incident commander unless otherwise directed 3. In addition to RIT Kit, forcible entry tools and thermal imagine camera (TIC) all IRIT/ RIT team members must be equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including SCBA, portable radio, hand-light, webbing, 4. Perform proper size-up: • Note size of building • Note location of hazards • Note location of companies operating in hazardous areas • Note location of entry and egress points 5. Start to pre-plan rescue operations based on circumstances of incident IV. I.R.I.T./R.I.T POSITIONING LOCATION AT EMERGENCY SCENE • • • The RIT shall be positioned at the Command Post unless the Incident Commander reassigns to another area (e.g., during high-rise operations, the RIT could be positioned at a forward Group/Division or two floors below the fire.) The RIT shall remain focused on the placement of crews through the monitoring of radio traffic and the information found on the Incident-Command Status Board or Tactical Worksheet. Positioning for incidents other than interior fire fighting shall be dictated by the Incident Commander (IC) based on the type of incident 1. I.R.I.T & R.I.T POSITIONS A. Definitions: a. “Lighthouse” – usually the Company Officer, uses his/her hand light and Thermal Imager to illuminate search path and directs search pattern and direction, has main tag line attached to their SCBA waist belt, and the tool kit secured to the their SCBA. b. “Mule” – carries the R.I.T. Kit, center of the search team, uses the large eight inch (8”) carabiner to attach to the main tag line and the R.I.T. kit c. “Wing Person” (including “Left Wing Person” and “Right Wing Person”) – conducts actual search after securing him/herself to the Mule with search line and spanning out, away from Mule Edited: 10/21/10 B. I.R.I.T (3 Person Team) • Position #1: Company Officer (“Lighthouse”) –Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC), portable radio and hand light. • Position #2: “Mule” – R.I.T. Kit, Portable Radio • Position #3: “Wing Person” – Hand light, Portable Radio C. R.I.T. (4 Person Team) • Position #1: Company Officer (“Lighthouse”) – Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC), portable radio and hand light. • Position #2: “Mule”– R.I.T. Kit and Portable Radio • Position #3: “Left Wing Person” – Hand light, Portable Radio • Position #4: “Right Wing Person” – Hand light, Portable Radio 2. COMMUNICATIONS A. Each member of the RIT shall have a radio for communications. B. All communications shall be directed through the Incident Commander (IC) unless advised otherwise by the IC. C. The RIT shall be identified as “RIT-1” for all communications while operating in this function. Note: Should the need arise for the IC to assign multiple RIT’s, identification should be th “RIT-2”, “RIT-3”, etc. (Geographical designations, such as “RIT-north” or “5 Floor RIT” may be used by the IC if he/she feels that it would be beneficial to operations. However, caution should be used by the IC to be consistent and NIMS (ICS) compliant in his/her designation of RIT titles.) 3. IRIT/RIT OPERATIONS a. Use a main tag line attached to a secure point outside the hazard area to ensure that the RIT can find its way out. The Officer or “Lighthouse” secures the main tag line to their SCBA waist belt and takes the lead. b. Wing Persons should use the 1 or 2 additional search lines to spread out away from the “Mule” in order to cover more area while still keeping the IRIT/RIT crew together. Edited: 10/21/10 c. Move quickly toward the last known location or sounding PASS alarm d. Use the “15-10” rule 1) Move quickly for 15 seconds 2) Stop for 10 seconds 3) Turn portable radios down 4) Hold your breath 5) Listen for PASS alarm of downed or trapped firefighter(s) e. Continue moving quickly f. Once the downed or trapped firefighter or crew is located 1) Shut off the PASS device 2) Assess their air supply (correct if necessary) 3) Assess their issues/needs 4) Notify command of: i. the situation found ii. give NAME(S) of the trapped or downed firefighters iii. give location of the trapped or downed firefighters 5) Call for necessary resources 4. ROTATION OR REASSIGNMENT OF RAPID INTERVENTION TEAM A. The Incident Commander shall consider the length of time the RIT has been on alert and rotate crews accordingly. B. If the Incident Commander uses the RIT for purposes other than search and rescue (e.g., reassigned to a sector, relief crew, etc.,) the RIT shall revert to their original radio identification and Incident Commander shall assign a replacement RIT if needed for the incident. C. It is important that an exchange of the incident information (briefing) take place during every RIT crew rotation. Edited: 10/21/10