First Due Tackle Pass It On – Firefighter, Rescue & Extrication Training
This post is from Lt Jason Deptula (Vermilion Twp. FD).
I’m sure we all practice RIT procedures in some fashion, here’s a twist to keep your crews focused on their situational awareness. Send your attack team through an exterior door at your station or training center and let’s call that our “A” side of our working incident. Have them proceed through a series of halls or rooms with a couple left or right hand turns. While they are making their way through the simulated structure they need to be thinking about where they are in the structure. “We entered through the “A” side door, progressed down a long hall, turned to our left and are now operating in bedroom on the “B” side of the structure”. After reaching a distant location the “A” side suffers a partial collapse and their primary exit route is now blocked. While trying to find an alternative way out a firefighter goes down and the crew should issue a mayday (WHO, WHAT and WHERE report).
The RIT has hopefully been keeping track on their own of where working crews are in the structure. The RIT is now forced to enter the structure through the “C” side and locate the crew in trouble. Can you do it? Left turns now become right turns but the “B” side of the structure will always be oriented in the same spot because we are working off of a standard layout. The RIT needs to be listening for PASS devices and hopefully some radio help from the crew in trouble. See how fast you can get your crews out of a structure you already know.
Pass it on!
