Firefighters Train on How to Save One of Their Own

By Charles Bassett, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Firefighters are trained to go into burning building and save lives if they have to, but a lot of local firefighters haven't had much training on how to save their own, until now.

There's a big difference when firefighters have to rescue a civilian versus one of their own, so for the past four months, Oklahoma City firefighters have been training on the dynamics of rescuing firefighters.

March 8, 1989, fire engulfed a southwest Oklahoma City home. The fire eventually claimed the lives of three firefighters who got trapped in flames. The Oklahoma City Fire Department is now putting together teams to find and rescue firefighters from burning buildings.

"For a civilian we would go in and for instance search around the walls and things. Firefighters aren't going to be hiding in the closets or under the beds, more likely their going to be trapped. They're going to be out of air," said Michael Paschal, Oklahoma City Fire Department.

The rescue teams are called Rapid Intervention Teams or RIT. Their goal is to determine when a firefighter is in trouble and then make the rescue without endangering their own lives.

"Basic RIT is rapid search technique, inter-company communication, benchmarks, rope management, crew integrity," said Maj. James Teal, Oklahoma City Fire Department.

The teams practice similar real world situations. Their face masks are blacked out to simulate zero visibility, and they must also, over the noise around them, determine if the firefighter is still alert.

"For instance we'll tap on the floor a certain number of times to let the other firefighters know we want them to tap back," Paschal said.

When the firefighter is found, the job is just as demanding getting them out. They may be entangled, and they're still wearing heavy equipment.

"It's a huge challenge to locate and establish a downed firefighter on air, and then to actually remove him from the structure while the structure is still part of a fire event. It's still weakening, it's still deteriorating," Teal said.

But with this training, they're hoping they're prepared, but never have to use it.

Firefighters are trained on how to get themselves out of a danger, but if they can't the RIT team is sent in.

"It brings to light a lot of our weaknesses. Although we do train continuously, it's nice to put it to the test and see what we need to work on," Paschal said.

Trainers said it can take eight to twelve RIT team members to rescue just one firefighter.