This video is the first team during a RIT evolution at Western Taney County Fire Protection District. They encountered wires and a wall with rebar in it. They had to call for resources and then they entered the room with trapped firefighters. They had to determine and try to fix the following:
Find the Firefighter
Fix any Air Problem
Disentangle/Disentrap
Package
Remove
This was the first team, more videos to come.
In our classes we spend a lot of time showing firefighters how to stay out of and how to get out of bad situations. Our fire service is seeing an increase in firefighters who are falling through floors into basements or sub-levels. This is large part due to the engineered flooring systems that do not perform well in fire conditions.
Fires are growing more intense much faster than in the past and the structural members of these buildings are under attack before we arrive in some cases. The importance of knowing our response areas, getting an accurate size-up, doing a 360 evaluation of the building and choosing an appropriate tactic are more critical than ever.
We teach different methods of removing ones self from a basement and removing a downed firefighter from basements. There are several techniques for removing a firefighter including using an attic ladder, using the hose, rope, or webbing to lift them out of the hole. We can also cut the floor away from the exterior making a window a door to remove someone. These are just a few examples.
For self rescue we teach using a hand tool as a step or as a recent post by Chris Huston discusses, using the drywall as a ladder to get yourself out. We also teach using webbing as a stepping device with the assistance of firefighters on the outside. All of these techniques are good and and should be practiced. However, we know that if we fall through a floor we may lose our tools and it is going to be very bad down there. Speed is of the essence.
When go over the teaching points of basement rescues, we always talk about things to do to avoid this from happening in the first place. Doing a good 360, sound the floors, descend stairs feet first, know your still area and building construction are good places to start. I also like to point out that the hazards we discuss in regards to basements, junk and clutter, can also be our friend.
If you find yourself in a situation in a basement or an area with a high window for egress, use the stuff in that space as steps. Pile it up under that window and climb out. Don’t forget to use the obvious. I have done training in acquired structures where we put firefighters in the basement and they are free to use whatever is available. You would be surprised how many limit their resources to only what is in their hands or pockets.
Train hard and sometimes thinking outside the box is as simple as looking around at the “stuff” that is right at your feet. Thanks for reading and expect fire!
Jason
From one of our instructors, Jeff Weffelmeyer.
If anyone has ever taught a bail out class, I am sure you have heard many comments such as: “Do we really need this thing with all of the other safety classes we’ve had?”, “I don’t want to carry around this extra weight”, or my personal favorite “I have been on the job for (insert Number of years here) and never had to jump out of a window”. As an instructor, how do you handle this situation? One method I have found useful is to give real life scenarios where firefighters had to bail out of a building. Two of the stories I use is a close call in 2003 involving the Saint Louis Fire Department and the Black Sunday story. (in my opinion should be used in every bail out/safety and survival class)
Recently, I started thinking about other dangerous occupations that have some sort of personal escape device. An occupation I came up with is fighter jet pilots and their bail out device called the ejection seat. The military spends millions of dollars to train their pilots and billions to give them a plane to do their job. In addition to the years of training, pilots are required to train on the proper ejection seat procedures every six months. If they fail the training they are grounded until they pass.
Additionally, do you think pilots complain about having to wear the extra weight of the parachute or want to get rid of the ejection seat because they have never had to use it? I would guarantee you that the answer is no. Do you think they complain about going to training on their ejection seat? Yep you guessed it, also a big no. So why do you think some firefighters have a hard time wearing and training on bail out systems? I don’t understand it either, but I always say it’s because of complacency. We can go to 20 fires and not need a bail out system and then get comfortable and think we don’t need it. Then on the 21st fire, guess what, we need it and don’t have it.
After thinking about it for a while, firefighters and fighter pilots are not that different. They both have access to an emergency escape device that they must stay up to date and train on regularly with the hope of never having to use it. But it is always nice to know that it is there. If you’re having a hard time training members of your department, remember that we have had hoods for years and we’re just now seeing everyone use them in every fire. Thanks for reading and remember get out there and train, train, and train some more.
Firefighter Jeff Weffelmeyer is a 11 year veteran of the fire service serving the last 3 years with the St. Louis Fire Department were he is assigned to Truck 17C in North St. Louis. Jeff is a certified Missouri Fire Service Instructor I, a member of St. Louis Area USAR Strike Team 2, an instructor with Forest Park Highlander Fire Academy and Engine House Training, LLC. Jeff also serves as a bail out instructor for the St. Louis Fire department.
The officer must be the one that watches for conditions.
When a crew is making an interior attack, or any task, on the fire ground, the officer must be the eyes and ears of his crew.
Although everyone is responsible for safety and identifying unsafe conditions, the officer must continually keep a watchful eye on conditions.
Too often I have witnessed the officer take the nozzle, dragging the firefighter along into a burning structure. The officer should be the more experienced person on the line; there is a reason he is the officer. ( I know that is not always the case, but, you get the point.)
I can remember being in a 3-story house with fire blowing out the rear on the first floor and making an aggressive interior attack as the nozzle man. About 5 minutes or so pass and I am right up on this thing not making much progress. The acting officer tapped me on the shoulder and said we needed to back out.
I of course did not want to, but what I didn’t see, because I was focused on the fire fight, was that we were pushing fire around the stairwell back to the front door, where we entered. Mostly because we had the wrong sized line for the amount of fire we had.
But, the point is, he was doing his job. Not just helping me with the hose line, but seeing the “big” picture. He was paying attention to more than just what was in front of him.
As officers on the hose line we are expected to be aware and to get the job done. On that fire it meant pulling out and going back with a larger line, which was effective.
Watch for changing smoke conditions. Look for fire behavior that may be odd. Just look at everything and stay aware. Get the job done and get back safe.
Here is a quick video of how to use a piece of webbing to assist a firefighter out of a basement window. Understand, that depending on the height of the basement, the length of webbing needed may need to be longer. A 30 foot piece of webbing tied in a loop will work for most situations. The reason the loop is used is so if the webbing slips, it wont completely slip out of your hands if your one of the firefighters pulling on the outside.
Thanks for reading and watching and train hard.
Jason
Here is a short video on ladder bailout. This drill must be done with a safety line in place and all students must wear all PPE. Make sure the chin straps are secure. Remember, which ever arm is your pivot arm, the one that goes under the rung, it should be on top when you get side ways. Practice and train frequently. Train with your ladders and get proficient.
As always, thanks for reading (watching) and stay safe.
Jason
This is just a quick way to use some webbing to make a harness to remove a victim or a downed firefighter. You need at least a 20 foot piece of webbing and no more than a 30 foot piece. If it is longer it tends to just get in the way.
I will normally keep different lengths in my pockets for different uses. The one that I keep for this type of use is kept looped with a water knot.
For a victim or downed firefighter lay the webbing around the victim. Grab the webbing at the feet and pull it up between the legs. Hold it tight and grab the webbing on the sides and bring both pieces up under the arms to right over the chest. You should now have three loops, one from between the legs and two, one from each side, under the arms.
Pull the two side loops through the loop coming from between the legs and pull tight. These are your handles. Get all webbing tight and snug under the arms and between the legs.
You can now pull and drag your victim. You can also lift a victim up out of a basement window. Check out the pictures and the attached video.
To get the straps on the back of a firefighter or victim, roll them over on their front and perform the same method. You will see this in the video.
This does take some time and is just another method that is available to you. Just another tool in your tool box.
Go train and give it a try.
Jason
We have all done a “Follow the Coupling Drill” where we are placed in 
the center of a pile of hose spaghettied around the engine room and told to find our way out. Here is a quick, inexpensive way to do this drill at every training exercise or anywhere around the engine house.
Find a piece of hose that has been removed from service, it works best if the couplings are not damaged. Cut both couplings off the section of hose, leaving about 12” of hose. Connect the couplings to each other and you’re finished.
During a training exercise walk-up to any firefighter, ask them to close their eyes, then 
place the coupling in their gloved hand and ask “which way is out”?
This can be taken anywhere, completed in seconds, and requires no set-up or tear-down time.
Take it and Train with it!
When we teach personal safety and survival, we try to teach practical techniques that just about any firefighter can use with limited equipment. One of our motto’s is “No gadgets or gizmos!” We want to train firefighters with what they have available to them.
So, when we speak of window bailouts, if the department we are working with does not have the capabilities to do a true window bailout, we want them to know that there is a very basic method to escape a rapidly deteriorating fire condition.
The window hang needs no special equipment and any firefighter can perform this skill. In addition, you can practice this on a ground level window. This skill is important and should be mastered by all firefighters. You may need this in any building, whether it is multiple stories or a single-story ranch.
This drill also demonstrates that the use of RIT Prevention is paramount and can save lives without the actual deployment of a RIT crew.
To practice this drill, find a window or window prop. This can be as easy as framing a small wall with a window out of scrap lumber, but use what you have available. Firefighters should be in full PPE with SCBA.
As the firefighter searches or is operating in the room the instructor should tell them that conditions are rapidly becoming untenable and they must exit via the window.
The firefighter, staying as low in the window as possible, should go head first out the window towards one corner or the other. If the firefighter exits towards the right, his left hand should be below him against the building and his right hand should be hooked on the inside at the bottom of sill. His left leg should immediately follow his body out the window with his right leg hooking the wall on the left side of the sill.
This takes practice and the importance of staying low is paramount. The firefighter has to stay below the intense heat and fire that may be issuing out of the window. This is a temporary fix for poor conditions. The firefighter will have to get the attention of ground crews.
This is the importance of throwing ladders as soon as possible on multi-story buildings. If a ladder is ready at that window, when the firefighter goes to this hang, he can transfer right to the ladder.
Train hard and practice this technique. No bailout system required.
Jason