Training Days: Firefighter Rescue Drills

To make maximum use of our time, the attendees were broken down into two groups so that we could train as many firefighters as possible at the same time. As other firefighters rotated into training, they were assigned to the group whose training was nearer to completion. This worked, since we had two instructors for this training day. 

The Denver drill is based on a scenario that occurred on September 28, 1992. Engineer Mark Langvardt of the Denver (CO) Fire Department died in the line of duty. After becoming separated from his crew as the result of a floor collapse and being trapped in a small storage room on the second floor of a commercial occupancy, Langvardt was overcome. The storage room, measuring six feet wide by 11 feet deep, was filled with cabinets and business equipment on both sides, creating an aisle way only 28 inches wide with an exterior window at one end. The drop from the windowsill to the floor was 42 inches. Firefighters entering the storage room through the second-floor window had to crawl over Langvardt, who was lying face down in the aisle in the fetal position, his head pressed against the interior of the front wall just under the window. Because of the restricted size of the aisle, there was room for only one rescuer to bend over the victim and lift, making conventional windowsill lifts and removal techniques next to impossible.

(1) The RIT firefighter finds the downed firefighter and gives him air from the RIT bag.

In the Denver drill, the first step is for the first rescue firefighter to enter the window and go to the feet of the downed firefighter. The downed firefighter is moved and pulled up to allow a second rescue firefighter to enter the window and take a place near the window. Over the years, I have seen a few variations of what happens next. In one scenario, the second rescue firefighter loosens a chest strap and moves his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) bottle to one side while he wedges his back right against the wall where the window is. He then pulls his legs up toward his chest, creating a “ramp.” The other rescue firefighter moves the downed firefighter (seated position) up against the legs of the second rescue firefighter. The first rescue firefighter pushes the downed firefighter up the “ramp” while the second rescue firefighter pulls up on the downed firefighter’s cylinder valve.

(2) This firefighter readies himself to help remove the downed firefighter. 

Another scenario has the second rescue firefighter, after loosening the chest strap and moving his SCBA cylinder to one side, lie on his back, with his head at the wall where the window is. He then places his feet on the chest of the downed firefighter. When both rescue firefighters are ready, the first rescue firefighter pushes the downed firefighter toward the window, while the second rescue firefighter moves his legs and lifts with them to get the downed firefighter to the window.

 

In a third scenario I have witnessed, once the first rescue firefighter is in the window and pulls up the downed firefighter, a small ladder is moved from the sill to the floor of the rescue area. The downed firefighter is leaned back onto the ladder. The first rescue firefighter lifts the end of the ladder that is inside the building while the outside firefighters pull the ladder out.

 

We used the second scenario in the RIT drill. In one room of the house, we had a mannequin wearing a full SCBA. Each member acts as part of the RIT team. This person is in charge of the air supply to the downed firefighter. The RIT firefighters take the RIT air supply into the room with obstructed visibility. Once they reach the mannequin, they ask whether the firefighter had a malfunction in the SCBA or he was just getting low on air.

 

Once it is determined that the firefighter needs to be supplied with air from the RIT supply, the firefighter manipulates the air supply system and the fittings on the hose so that the downed firefighter is supplied with air. Meanwhile, the rest of the RIT team is attempting to “free” the trapped firefighter. With a number of different SCBAs on the market, I won’t go into great detail about how our system supplies air to the downed firefighter; yours may be different. The point is to get out of there with the downed firefighter and to practice with the system you have so that each member becomes proficient with it. 

You have read a few variations of drills I hope you have performed. If you have done them a bit differently, it doesn’t matter as long as the objective of rescuing the firefighter has been met. The key is to get out of there and to practice.

Tom Kiurski is training coordinator, a paramedic, and the director of fire safety education for Livonia (MI) Fire & Rescue. His book, Creating a Fire-Safe Community: A Guide for Fire Safety Educators (Fire Engineering, 1999), is a guide for bringing the safety message to all segments of the community efficiently and economically.

 

 

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