The Warren County Fire Chiefs Association, which includes 15 fire departments north of Cincinnati, recently completed rapid intervention team training for all fire chiefs and assistant chiefs. The RIT training now will “flow down” to firefighters in all their departments.

As part of the program, every fire department in Warren County adopted a single RIT policy. This countywide policy addresses on-scene staffing, RIT response, RIT training for all firefighters in the county and a standard RIT equipment list.

According to Chief Mike Cardwell of Deerfield (Ohio) Fire & Rescue, the RIT training is a three-phase program, with each phase delivering 12 to 16 hours of instruction. Each phase of the program includes a training session for incident commanders.

Phase One, “Implementing Rapid Intervention,” delivers instruction on basic rescue and survival techniques that don't require skills beyond those covered in Firefighter I; Phase Two, “Rapid Intervention for Residential Buildings,” teaches advanced techniques required for residential buildings; and Phase Three, “Rapid Intervention for Commercial Buildings” covers the most advanced rescue and survival techniques.

Cardwell noted that the countywide initiative implements one of 16 Firefighter Life-Safety Initiatives recommended by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the U.S. Fire Administration to reduce line-of-duty deaths: risk management training for personnel at all levels.

“As the firefighters develop their skills, command officers develop their skills at recognizing and avoiding unnecessarily hazardous conditions,” he said.

See www.firehero.org for more details on the life-safety initiatives. For more information about the Warren County RIT program, visit www.wcfca.org.