By JOSEPH PRONESTI
It can be “fool’s gold” to believe that your three- or four-member rapid intervention team (RIT) will suffice when combating a fire in a group of attached structures of ordinary construction. Let’s compare how most smaller departments handle RIT at a typical residential fire vs. a three-story building of legacy construction.
Deputy Chief (Ret.) Anthony Avillo, North Hudson (NJ) Regional Fire and Rescue, has stated that fires in continuous structures can be a “manpower sponge.” A working fire in a commercial building (especially one at the middle of a block) has the potential to spread, necessitating double the number of firefighters on scene as compared to a fire in a residential building. Also, depending on the size of your department, several departments may be on scene. So, how are the two responses – to residential vs. commercial buildings – different?
建筑物
The layout of most residential structures is relatively straightforward; a four-member RIT can provide a quality fire attack. Under normal circumstances, these crews cansoften建筑一个事件之前,把梯子, increasing scene lighting, and so on. However, you may face many obstacles when attempting to get these crews from the A side (photo 1) of your “Main Street” building to the C side (photo 2). We work in a world of residential house fires, and when confronted with the commercial fire, the “square peg in a round hole” approach to RIT can give command officers a false sense of security. This article is not intended to be a RIT procedure guide. Many articles and periodicals exist on the subject, but few focus on commercial (legacy) buildings and the nuances they present. A RIT leader must have a fundamental understanding of Type III construction and its fire spread potential, which can be rapid, go in any direction, and lead to collapse. The engaged RIT officer will be well ahead of the curve and possess the same pessimistic mindset that command must also share. In a residential fire, we are dealing with a single structure; the RIT boss on Main Street may have a serious vacant storefront fire with occupied apartments above extending to, say, a furniture store, each with possibly dozens of firefighters inside.
![]() |
| (1,2)为您响应的所有结构,拥有一定大小的快速干预团队(RIT),尤其是对于这些类型的III类普通建筑物,可能会设立一个部门以失败。(作者的照片。) |
普通危害
与任何火灾一样,危险仪可能会面临,我们可能需要从中救出的危险范围很多,因此让我们缩小范围,以了解国家消防协会2014年2014年消防员死亡报告中指出的一些常见危害。
In 2014, stress and exertion/medical was at the top at 58 percent. If we exclude crashes and focus on fireground fatalities, the next four hazards in order of probability were the following:
- Rapid fire progression: 8 percent.
- 结构内部失去/迷失方向:5%。
- Falls: 5 percent.
- 结构崩溃:3%。
压力和劳累/医疗
A RIT crew that is activated for a medical event may be faced with moving a down firefighter up from commercial basement stairs or down constricted hallways or stairs from upper floors – two distinct features of “Main Street” buildings. One location on the residential structure not always considered during an emergency is the roof because of the building’s legacy construction; roof operations are usually needed here because the roof is a common work area during a fire.
那么,RIT将如何将遭受中风或心脏病发作的消防员移动?您可以将合适的垃圾带到屋顶上吗?如果您在现场只有空中,可以安全地将该成员放下吗?由于这些问题,您必须做好准备并审查培训,以拆除梯子上的消防员(空中或地面),该部门有时会忽略。此外,主要街道建筑物的许多C侧都采用通常在住宅建筑物中发现的大型电动输电线路,从而为电造电。

失去了/迷失方向
“Negative, Command. I can’t do it, have stuff all over the line, and I am disoriented on I … please send help.”
不幸的是,这是布莱恩(TX)消防局中尉埃里克·华莱士(Eric Wallace)的最后一次无线电传输,他于2013年2月15日在商业大楼大火中去世。在杂乱无章的商业地下室或市区二楼或三楼的大型工作室公寓中?作为RIT船员,您的计划是什么不常见的障碍来跨越倒立的消防员?您的RIT绳袋是否能提出打结以指示距离穿越并确定到您的入口处的方向?绑定点 - 一系列绑在绳索上的结 - 应以每个结之间的25英尺间隔进行,在175英尺处延伸至7节。空气供应也将成为一个问题;需要将空气带到一名消防员是一种可能的情况,但它也可能成为需要空气的两个或更多消防员。较小城镇的大火将积聚来自几个部门的大量消防员。RIT船员必须擅长为不同的自给自足的呼吸器提供空气。
Falls
You will not find legacy exterior fire escapes on residential dwellings; they will most likely be on Type III multistory buildings. A proactive RIT can illuminate the building and scan fire escapes for any hazards prior to a response, especially if the fire escapes are needed during an emergency egress or evacuation. When illuminating the building, focus on parapets and cornices. A RIT’s duties will cross over to the duties of the safety officer, but most small departments assign RIT prior to assigning a safety officer, thus gaining more eyes on the building for safety.
Structural Collapse
The fire service has done well educating its members in and recognizing today’s preengineered construction and the inherent structural hazards of Type II noncombustible buildings. However, many firefighters are still encountering near misses or worse in Type III building collapses, the most recent being a line-of-duty death (LODD) in Kansas City, Missouri, in October 2015. A structural collapse on the fireground is the most difficult to control from accountability and rescue standpoints. Collapses of these Type III buildings occur mostly involving the parapet and outside walls. A RIT must focus on the building prior to the event, especially on structural cracks, smoke, water seeping through walls, and so on. We usually do not measure the amount of water we use on the fireground; pouring hundreds of gallons of water on top of and around a building and then sending in the “troops” can be a neglected safety issue. Most deadly collapses have occurred during the overhaul stage, a prime example of which is the 1972 Hotel Vendome fire in Boston, Massachusetts, that claimed the lives of nine firefighters.
![]() |
| (3, 4) Do not assume that all members on the fireground will recognize hazards such as outward-swinging doors leading to shafts. Educate your members on the typical hazards found in legacy Type III buildings. |
RIT线
很少有部门的RIT指南和程序使用单独的行讨论其RIT。在德克萨斯州布莱恩(Bryan),行动报告后,将使用RIT托管作为新的标准,该标准将由该部门采用。如果发生崩溃或快速火灾事件并捕获消防员,则部署的,充电的霍斯线将是最快的方法,即在大火上取水并远离被困的消防员。在大街或任何其他建筑类型的商业大火期间,RIT应该在准备好的线路上有这条线。
首席执行官定位
一个好的指挥官将使首席官在大街大火中到位。最近,我正在教一门关于III型消防的课程,我们花了很多时间来辩论公司官员作为部门老板。188金博网网址多少公司官员(尤其是在较小的郊区环境中 - 付费或志愿者)严格着重于指挥/监督两个或三名成员。当他被要求监督整个区域时,我们不能确定他已经接受了培训或专注于整个情况 - 即崩溃,烟雾,烟雾,火灾蔓延,问责制等等。在大型活动中,可以说同样的话。添加一名首席官员来监督RIT,就像您在屋顶,内部和曝光度上一样。
One Block, Two Sides, Two RITs
“Command, we have a firefighter in trouble on the C side; we need RIT deployed now!”These are words you never want to hear, but if you hear them, think about the logistics and time it would take to get the RIT from the A side – where you most likely stage your RIT – to the C side. Most Main Street structures of legacy construction feature alleys at the rear, and we most likely have companies operating on the C side to begin with. So, think about doubling your RIT by having a team staged on the A and C sides.

建立空中
Most smaller departments do not have full-time positions on their truck companies. Some mutual-aid companies may not even have an aerial, so what do you do if you need RIT to set up the aerial to get a firefighter out of a third-floor window? Train all firefighters in the use of your department’s aerial apparatus, conduct training with your mutual-aid departments, and review each other’s equipment and apparatus. As a chief, you will not want to explain to the widow of a firefighter why you couldn’t get the aerial to her husband in time.
营救“公牛”
Like most of us, Alan “The Bull” Dugan of the Grandview (MO) Fire Department went to work on October 5, 2015. However, within the first few hours of his shift, his department was called to a fire in a two-story downtown building with as many as four civilians reported trapped. The building housed retail businesses on the first floor and seven residential apartments on the second floor. The “Bull” crew arrived and began immediate search operations. Police officers had already removed one trapped occupant, but more were reported inside. At 1003 hours, a ceiling collapsed on the second floor, trapping Dugan. He radioed a Mayday, and he was successfully rescued. The rescue was recorded by a citizen, and the video went “viral,” showing his aerial apparatus operator climbing the ladder to rescue him. It was a successful outcome to a possible tragedy.
经过深思熟虑的工作,了解“住宅”和“主要街道”之间的差异可能有一天可以帮助您挽救生命。
JOSEPH PRONESTI是Elyria(OH)消防局的28年退伍军人,也是一位轮班指挥官。他是俄亥俄州消防局执行官计划的毕业生,也是Cuyahoga县(俄亥俄州)社区大学消防学院的首席讲师。188博金宝体育1Pronesti还是消防服务出版物和网站的贡献者188金宝搏是正规吗, FireEngineering.com, and FirefighterNation.com.
您准备好在城镇的大街上大火吗?
为“大个子”做好准备
Lost in the Fog of the Fireground
Fire Engineering Archives














