Dudley Fire takes rapid intervention course

Location:  Auburn & Worcester Fire Training Facilities

More photos follow.

Particulars:   Recently, members of the Dudley Fire Department underwent an extensive training program which taught firefighters a number of survival skills.  The class, Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) training, took three days to complete.  RIT teams are essential at any building fire these days, as a RIT team is put to work when a firefighter who is battling a fire gets in trouble.  The course curriculum dealt with how firefighters get trapped as well as how they can help themselves survive that harrowing situation.  And if they were unable to escape their situation, teams were trained on how to locate the firefighter in trouble and facilitate his rescue.

The program, which was offered by members of the Auburn and Oxford fire departments, covered a variety of subjects in the classroom before the Dudley students were allowed to take their newfound knowledge into the drill yard to apply their lessons.  Dudley firefighters were taught about the perils of getting separated from your co-workers inside a fire building and how easy it is to get disoriented, lost, and or trapped.  Firefighters then learned some very useful self-survival techniques if they ever found themselves trapped in an untenable area.

After completing that portion of training, the Dudley jakes were taught how to locate and drag out a brother firefighter that was in trouble.  This task can be Herculean at times, as a firefighter is usually wearing about 75 pounds of equipment when he enters a fire.  Add water weight to the protective ensemble he wears and you can conservatively add another 25 pounds to the mix.  It becomes physically demanding and quite difficult to haul a 200 pound firefighter to safety when he actually weighs in at about 300 pounds!  It takes a very knowledgeable crew and loads of stamina to get the job done.  Dudley firefighters took the class very seriously, and worked very hard to perform each drill in a quick and efficient manner.

Firefighters spent two eight hour days in the Auburn and Worcester Fire Training Facilities honing their practical skills.  The first day was difficult, but on the second day an added degree of difficulty was added; each of the drills were performed under a “live fire” condition.  Fires are built in the training building to add heat, smoke, and a definite sense of urgency and realism to the scenarios.  Dudley firefighters rose to the challenge and proved they had learned their lessons well.  And when things went wrong, operations were critiqued and discussed with all members involved.  All in all, it was a great learning experience, and firefighters received some very valuable “hands on” training.

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