Skip to content


Is Anyone (Else) Out There? First Arriving & Trapped.

As reported in our nations news, five DC Fire Department members were injured yesterday in an early morning house fire.  They became trapped by a ceiling collapse shortly after making entry.  A couple self-rescued, others needed the RIC for assistance.  Injuries ranged from minor to very serious.

The speed with which the RIC deployed and made rescues, coupled with the the IC immediately requesting a 2nd Alarm resulted in not only rapid rescue of multiple trapped firefighters, but also quick knock down of a serious fire.

Unlike urban/metro FD’s, the suburban FD may not have quite a rapid response to the same scenario.  Though the goals, intentions may be the same, the shear number of available resources can be a devastating difference.

From a training standpoint… When we train for rapid intervention, most of the time run our scenarios with the firefighters deep in the building, lines on the ground, all units on scene and working.

  • WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FIRST ARRIVING UNIT, THE ONLY ONE ON SCENE, GET TRAPPED?
  • DO YOU HAVE A RIC ASSIGNED ON YOUR INITIAL RESPONSE?
  • IS YOUR RIC A SPECIALIZED UNIT, OR ARE ALL MEMBERS TRAINED IN RAPID INTERVENTION?
From an operations standpoint… When we sit down a write SOG/Standing Orders/General Orders/Policies (Whatever you call them), are we really thinking about probable risks that we face?  WE DON’T NEED TO “WHAT IF” IT TO DEATH.  However, do we, AT LEAST, have a plan that puts a RIC on the first alarm and tells us HOW TO GET ADDITIONAL RESOURCES?
  • DOES YOUR DEPARTMENT HAVE A “PLAN A” IN WRITING?
  • DOES YOUR DEPARTMENT HAVE A “PLAN B” IN WRITING?
  • WHAT IS YOUR 2ND ALARM ASSIGNMENT & HOW DO YOU GET IT?

Below is a link to the FirefighterNation post that has been following the story in DC.  They have continuing coverage from all over the DC Metro area including Statter911.

DCFD Mayday/ Injured Firefighters Links:



Also on SAFE Firefighter …

Posted in Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, News, Rescues, Training & Development, Videos

Tagged , , , , , ,