A major part of a firefighter’s job is to rescue people.
But what happens when it’s a firefighter who needs to be saved? Who rescues the rescuers?
Oxford and Addison firefighters spent Friday through Sunday training together for that possibility as part of a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) class conducted by Oakland Community College’s Combined Regional Emergency Services Training center.
When deployed, a RIT’s sole job is to rescue downed firefighters trapped inside burning structures.
Firefighers trained inside the vacant two-story house located in the village at the northeast corner of Center St. and M-24.
Local builder Dave Weckle owns the home and plans to demolish it, but first, he ‘graciously? allowed the two departments to use it, according to Oxford Fire Chief Pete Scholz.
‘We don’t get too many opportunities with a house like that where you can do real-life training,? the chief said.
Thanks to blacked-out windows and tons of theatrical smoke, visibility was reduced to zero inside the house as firefighters searched for their downed comrade by crawling on their hands and knees through diminished clearances and obstacles, such as a collapsed ceiling filled with tangles of electrical wires.
Outside the house, firefighters practiced bailing out of second-story windows by sliding down ladders head first and climbing down ropes.
‘The more we plan ahead before an event happens, the quicker we are on scene,? said Southfield firefighter Ken Chesnut, who served as an instructor.
Chesnut said the first day of class is about learning how to take care of yourself, while the second day focuses on working with a partner.
Day Three is when firefighters get introduced to the concept of a four-member RIT in which everyone has an assigned position and automatically knows what to do.
With all the fire departments in Oakland County operating under one big mutual aid agreement, Chesnut explained the idea is to be able to take firefighters from different departments and plug them into a RIT when needed.
‘We’re all on the same page basically. That’s the goal,? he said. ‘If a firefighter goes down, one department doesn’t have enough people to take care of it.?
Rescuing a firefighter trapped in a burning structure is much more difficult than rescuing a civilian.
Civilians are typically rescued during the beginning stages of a fire and can usually be found headed toward an exit, according to Chesnut.
Firefighters, on the other hand, can be anywhere in the building because they’re busy searching the structure. And when a firefighter becomes trapped, it usually means he or she went through the floor or had debris fall on them.
Unlike civilians, firefighters are also wearing a ton of gear, which makes them much heavier and harder to move.
Finding a downed firefighter is literally a race against the clock, according to Chesnut, because the oxygen tanks they carry only have about 30 minutes of air in them.
Chesnut noted it’s actually more like 12-18 minutes of air because the wearer is usually breathing harder from work and stress.
Overall, Chesnut was impressed with how Oxford and Addison’s firefighters performed during the class.
‘Both these departments are really doing a phenomenal job,? he said.