Rapid Intervention Equipment Cache

[Guest]

What equipment do you carry in your rapid intervention tool cache? How do move it from the apparatus to the staging area?

[MEck51]

Scott Ric pak (has a set of dikes & wirecutters in bag)
Search line 200ft with 4 25ft leaders
Pre-rigged hauling/lowering system
TIC
EMS Jumpkit (stays outside unless needed otherwise)
Irons
Vent saw with Bullet blade
Carried to scene in a stokes litter

Other equipment will vary depending upon crew and type of building, suspected hazards encountered. We will also throw ladders from trucks closer to the scene if conditions warrant. Our equipment is our equipment and no one touches it, no exceptions.

[mvfdsquad2]

I'm the RIT junkie at my house and my county is getting all RIT-happy...finally. My Chief approached me the other day with the RIT SOPs for the county and basically said "Do something with this." The County policy was a good start but it was missing a lot. Right now I'm working up an in-house handbook including equipment checklists, operational procedures, drills, tactics, as well as a supplemental list of equipment that needs to be purchased if we want to be serious about it. Here's my question. I wrote up a list of equipment that should be brought to the staging area if indications show a collapse hazard or at the discretion of the RIT leader on a multi-story building. Does anyone else have this in place?

Basic RIT Equipment List

1. Stokes Basket
2. RIT Pack
3. Salvage Cover
4. Forcible Entry Bag
5. Auto Extrication Jump Bag
6. K12 Partner Saw
7. Chain Saw
8. Attic Ladder
9. Roof Ladder
10. 24’ Ladder
11. Maul
12. 150’ Lifeline
13. Utility Rope
14. Rope Rigging Kit
15. Rebar Cutter
16. Hurst Gen-light

[chiapet]

It all depends on your city building construction in my opinion as every area has unique hazards. At my department we try to stay light and mobile. We usually have a Team set up with 1 set of irons, 1 set of heavy irons(mallet/halligan), K tool, K saw, RIT pack with full SCBA set up including a mask, drag straps, webbing, oversize carabiners, portable lights, spare radio, TIC, and 4- 50ft sections of 8mm rope. A 1 3/4" line is dedicated to the team as well. our biggest asset is mobility and flexability.

[TNFF319]

It all depends on your city building construction in my opinion as every area has unique hazards. At my department we try to stay light and mobile. We usually have a Team set up with 1 set of irons, 1 set of heavy irons(mallet/halligan), K tool, K saw, RIT pack with full SCBA set up including a mask, drag straps, webbing, oversize carabiners, portable lights, spare radio, TIC, and 4- 50ft sections of 8mm rope. A 1 3/4" line is dedicated to the team as well. our biggest asset is mobility and flexability.

Can I ask why you carry the K-tool? Why would you want to go through the lock when you could force the door or cut it? Property conservation is not on the to do list during a Mayday. Im guessing you guys use it to open up adjacent buildings as a pre-Mayday thing.

[bmiller59]

My department has been fairly RIT motivated for the last few years. One area I disagree with our SOP's is a dedicated line for the RIT. Generally we wind up with more hose than we can utilize with the personnel on scene. If the idea is to be light and fast, which I fully support, then a charged line could be a detrament.
What is your opinion on a dedicated hose line for RIT?

[mikeyboy411]

As far as having a line, my .02 is dedicate it so that it is there if needed. If activated the RIT Supervisor (aka the C.O.) has the option to either take it or not. If I'm going to encounter the fire I use it to keep the fire in-check until we can make the grab. If I'm not going to encounter the fire then leave it. This is one reason why updated locations from the Interior Crews is so important.

To me, leaving the hose on the Rig is similar thinking to leaving the RIT Equipment on the Rig until your activated. It just doesn't make sense to me. We put multiple preconnects/discharges on our Engines for this exact reason; pull them.

There's my feeling on a RIT Hoseline.

[mikeyboy411]

Equipment from our soon to be PDA and SOP

Minimum Equipment:

Reasonable equipment for our two members RIT will include the following:
Thermal imaging camera.
Halligan.
Flathead ax.
Sledgehammer.
Six-foot pike pole/hook.
Search rope appropriate for the structure.
Saw suitable for most tasks in the particular type of construction.
Complete extra SCBA, including mask.
Each company member must carry the usual complement of pocket hardware including several light sources, a readily accessible knife, wire cutters, chocks and webbing.
A portable radio (HT).
RIT medical cache.
Handline capable of reaching the seat of the fire or the floor above, if needed. The Engineer of the engine that stretches this line must stretch it far enough to dedicate enough water for RIT Company use. This line is to be used solely for the RIT; writing “RIT “over the discharge gauge and opening valve will remind the Engineer it’s sole purpose.

Equipment can be placed in a SKED, stokes basket, tarp or on whatever the Team can find to make transporting and moving the equipment easier.

Reasonable equipment for a three or four member RIC will include the following:
The equipment for a two member RIT in addition to:
Multiple life safety rope bags.
Multiple saws suitable for most tasks in the particular type of construction.
Multiple forcible entry/forcible egress tools.
Minimum of (3) complete extra SCBA, including mask.
Multiple RIT medical caches.

RIC equipment suggested for fires in Wood Frame/Heavy Timber/Ordinary construction may include:
Spare SCBA’s
Pick head axes
Pike poles
Circular wood blade saw
Ventilation chain saw
Sledge hammer,
Halligan bar or other similar tool
Ground ladders as necessary, access to aerial ladders as necessary
Air bags/shoring/cribbing, if collapse hazard.

RIC equipment suggested for fires in Noncombustible/Fire Resistive construction may include:
Spare SCBA’s
Halligan bars or other similar tools
Sledge hammers
Circular metal-blade saw
Circular dry cut concrete-blade saw as necessary
Air bags/shoring/cribbing, if collapse hazard
Air chisel with dedicated bottle
Ground ladders as necessary, access to aerial ladders as necessary

RIC equipment suggested for collapse operations:
Spare SCBA’s
Airbags, shoring and cribbing
Air vacuum as necessary
Cutting saws
Air chisel
TIC
And other equipment based on hazards.

RIC equipment for other high-risk incident types: should be based on the particular hazards, as recommended by technical specialists and as required by law (e.g. intrinsically safe equipment for confined space operations)