OCFA RIC Operations

today we're going to review basic Rick operations emergency air management techniques including an overview of the Rick pack and three different types of SC bas currently in use in the au CFA and we're going to introduce two new pieces of equipment which will be standard issued to our truck companies a large area search bag in the Rick tarp if you're not assigned to a truck company make arrangements with one in your area and become familiar with the Rick tarp and the large area search bag the large area search bag has many different techniques that will work with it but it's up to you and your crew to train with it and determine which ones will work right for you most of you are already familiar with Phoenix Fire Department firefighter Bret Tarver and the incident that led to his death on March 14 2001 shortly after this incident Phoenix Fire Department ran approximately 200 Rapid Intervention drills with over 1100 Phoenix Fire Department firefighters afterwards and Arizona State University statistician analyzed the data and came up with the following first Rapid Intervention is not rapid the average time for rescue crews to get to a ready state was two and a half minutes from Mayday - Rick entry was just over three minutes time inside the building for each Rick team averaged just over 12 minutes the total time for rescue was 21 minutes on average it took 12 firefighters to rescue one one in five Rick members got into some type of trouble themselves and a 4,500 PSI SCBA bottle lasted approximately 18 and a half minutes most incidents that require Rick team deployment occur in the first 24 minutes of an incident when given the Rick assignment here are some considerations and objectives Rick should be an active role on the fire ground the group supervisors should acquire a second pack set one for Rick operations and one for firefighting operations a designated rick area needs to be established as well as a tool cache consider the use of one-hour bottles a 360 and softening of the structure should be done any louder thrown should be thrown fly out to facilitate possible rescues or bailouts plan your egress as well as your ingress should your team be activated the size of the incident will play a role in determining the amount of pre-staged personnel prior to and after your team is activated ask yourself what information do I have or need if you are activated and it is possible ask the victim to activate their past prior to your entry now we're going to hear from one of the leading ric instructors in the nation and our own battalion chief poki Sanchez about an incident he was on and Rick was deployed during some of the Rik classes that we've done you're under the live fire conditions being an instructor you to watch law and I think being able to watch not participating kind of get that overall broad view of what's going on for the incident you get to see a lot what's going on I think some of the biggest thing is just communication like inter crew communication is huge but also providing that key information to the crews outside or that I see are operations whose command in that Rick activation having that Rick supervisor having that one company officer step up and take charge to command the guys that are actively involved in searching or trying to free that down firefighter getting that positive air source to that downed firefighter either with your own pack if you don't have a Rick pack available but getting that number one that positive air source is gonna be the key for that firefighter that's down that's a limiting factor is that air supply inside that building not only for that downed firefighter but for us as a trick company so having that that air management also as we're providing through and simple things is basically shielding yourself from that radiant heat or that down fire fighter you might have to be taking doors off hinges to provide some kind of natural barriers that we could put in front of it to protect us from that radiant heat that's gonna buy some time to allow us to either keep searching or keep up freeing that down firefighter being able to have that Rick training in a live-fire environment duplicates what it's gonna be like in the real world as best we can obviously it's still a training environment but to have that live fire component really changes things you know we can't cut corners a live fire you can't take your gloves off if you can't reach in your pockets you can't stand up because you're gonna you're a burn or melt your helmets and you can't see it's realistic tits we're not going to be able to see when we have that Rick activation it's gonna be the worst situation for us as firefighters to be able to now save our own and just because there's a Rick activation or fire protocols Mayday fire doesn't stop the fires gonna keep compounding and getting worse so now we have an incident within an incident that we have to overcome that we might be behind the power curve even before we had that Ric activation so now we have to press on get our crews assign and establish and in place to be able to locate the dam members I responded to a structure fire along with battalion seven units in our Co Engine 31 who was the first driving engine company found an attic well involved with fire and a large single store two-story single-family residence a few minutes after their initial attack they did have a ceiling collapse with our Rick tee being so proactive we had very minor injuries and came away from the incident unscathed that team was successful because they were prepared one way we're going to be better prepared is with two new pieces of equipment the first is the large area search back each large area search bag will come complete with two 20-foot webbings one 10-foot webbing and 200 feet of search line upon receipt of the bag each company may find it advantageous for their usage to add a few more items to the bag most firefighters carry wedges in their turnouts however with the large area search bag use it is imperative that we use these in conjunction with the bag this will aid in ingress and egress and ease of deployment of the bag we also have added two chem-lights to our large area search bag these can be easily large putted onto the line and aid in visibility of the search line let me talk a little more about the search line itself located every 25 feet is a knot and ring combination this not only provides directional reference but distance into the building as firefighters enter the building we come upon a ring first as we exit the building we will come upon a knot first hence the term ring out since training with the large area search bag we have found some crews have difficulty feeling the knots with gloves on train with the crew and decide whether you would like to spread the knots apart crews enter on the right side of the line and exit on the right side of the line same as on the road the concept of the large area search bag is to ensure the RIC is connected to the main line at all times to maintain accountability at any point a member leaves the main line to expand search capabilities he or she must be attached this may be accomplished with the use of one 20-foot webbing two 20-foot webbings connected or SCB a 75-foot tag line when leaving the main line greater than verbal or visual communication distance that as important radio communications are available prior to entry the search line must be anchored outside the structure at least three feet off the ground this will serve to keep the line suspended as we progress away from our entrance the large areas search bags should be secured in the left hand maintaining tension throughout deployment in order to maintain tension it may be necessary to periodically tie off the line two types of searches can be conducted using the large area search bag point-to-point or specific area search a point-to-point search is the preferred method this is used when the last-known location of the downed firefighter is known or we have a pass device sounding the RIC then moves directly towards the downed firefighter with the line specific area search may be necessary if the location of the downed firefighter is unknown at this point thorough systematic search is required refer to your ifsta manual for review of basic search techniques the crew positions we will be showing today for large area search bag deployment is for a four person company and our only recommendations position number one moves in an upright position with the head up providing a clear route for the crew with the TIC he also uses a tool for sounding or sweeping in front of the crew position number one will carry the extra tick battery and upon exit is the anchor for crew and maintains accountability of all personnel position two will be rope deployment his job is to maintain line deployment ensure tension is maintained throughout the search position number three will carry 120 foot webbing wrapped around the hand for ease and payout and will also bring in the RIC pack position number four will also carry a 20-foot webbing wrapped around the hand and extra tools deemed necessary by the RIC leader typically firefighters have a plan for ingress without consideration for egress there are two circumstances for egress one firefighter or firefighters are low on air crew has maintained the rule of thirds and needs to exit the building prior to locating the victim in this scenario the crew will tie off the bag this will accomplish two things it provides a taut line for exiting and incoming crews to follow and identifies the starting point for the incoming crew to continue the search the second circumstance for egress is your crew has located and is removing the victim in this case the bag does not need to be tied off the anchor position will provide tension on the line when locating and rescuing the victim the lead will clear the way of obstacles two crew members will secure air supply and remove the victim the anchor maintains crew accountability and keeps the search line taut the second piece of gear we're going to introduce is the ric tarp it's been implemented not only to make the ric process more efficient but facilitates direction for our department and multi-agency operations the ric tarp serves three purposes first it's the center of operations for all ric activities it functions as a meeting point second it's a tool cache the itemized list on the ric tarp is not an end-all be-all list but it's a starting point for the crews and third it's a planning area for the group supervisor and the RIC teams now for the most critical aspect of rescuing a downed firefighter emergency air supply in most cases when emergency traffic or Mayday is broadcast for missing downed or injured firefighters locating the firefighter ensuring adequate air supply er the most important functions RIT can provide a large majority of fire ground fatalities are directly related to CO poisoning and asphyxiation investigations have shown that in the events of entrapment and disorientation firefighters are dying from lack of air before sustaining fatal burn injuries emergency air supply is a critical function that must be considered by the Rapid Intervention crew here are some considerations what steps need to be performed to secure the air supply of a downed firefighter using an air pack you brought in are all firefighters on the fire ground using the same type of SCBA and if not what steps need to be performed to secure the air supply we'll get into buddy breathing in a minute let's talk about the Rick pack first it's important to note that this is in in cases of down firefighters and trapped firefighters that this is your best option because it increases your working time it does provide you more air and it provides you an independent air supply whereas if you're you're gone a firefighter rescue and you're sharing a bottle that's going to decrease your working time so we'll review the pouches at the base here we have a Rick tarp we open the pouch and we have over six feet of low pressure line which has a dual manifold you have an extra regulator and an extra face piece and this pouch we have multiple sets of cutters to include a knife the backside here we have over six feet of high-pressure line at the end of this we have the Rikyu AK that attaches to the stem at the base of some models and at the base of the bottle of exposed part of the bottle we have our first stage and when you turn on the bottle notice there's no sounds and there's no pass device that's important we also have an extra face piece here now we're going to review in service deployment of the Ric pack in the event of a downed firefighter first sit the firefighter in an upright position shut off his pass device we're gonna assess the firefighter in condition of the facepiece facepiece is an integral part its polycarbonate base and it's the weakest component of the system is subject to thermal degradation and impact damage death of firefighter and the line of duty show thermal damage to the face piece and a likely contributor to their fatality examine the face piece for cracks bubbling deformity and discoloration keep in mind that CO poisoning may make a firefighter confused and/or combative now we're gonna demonstrate five different ways to put a firefighter on air if the face piece is intact and in good working order the quickest and easiest method if they have the dual manifold next to their harness is to remove the face piece with a low pressure line DC got to make sure my bottle is on and I attach the female to the male end and our firefighter has air another method you can use if the face piece is intact and in good working order is to do a regulator changeover so what I do is I turn my bottle on notice no cycle or no sounds I take out the face piece I DC the face piece from the regulator and I coordinate with my partner take two breaths and make sure he's breathing he's on air another method you can use if you recognize that you have the AP 50 or the AP 75 and you have this connection point here is just to DC this connection point off the regulator and attach here I turn on the bottle I hold the female end for my partner and he attaches it and make sure he's on air notice my partner asked him to take two breaths and he coordinates the attachment in a situation where the face piece has been damaged from heat a fall or collapse we had we need to do a face piece changeover requires a coordinated effort between me and my partner I'll remove the face piece from the Ric pack making sure the netting is in front of the face piece my Ric bottle is on notice no cycle or no sounds and I'm gonna use the chin cut method as soon as my partner removes the face piece I make sure I get a positive seal my partner pulls the netting back across his head tightens down the face piece replaces gear we're good to go and lastly a consideration for giving your partner air if we recognize what kind of pack they have and they do have the stem that will allow me to connect the high-pressure uaq line to it this is a universal air connection in 2006 MSA dragger and Scott were all mandated to have the Rikyu act as part of the Rick complement this is a trans fill system takes seven to eight seconds for the bottles to self equalize does not fill the bottle it just gives him the air that's from here to the bottle that he has and the bottle self equalized so if I have 3000 pounds in my Rick bottle and he has a thousand pounds he's only gonna have 2,000 pounds of air that could be a disadvantage so just make that part of your consideration when you're thinking about air supply for your down firefighter connect the bottles we attach for seven to eight seconds the bottle self equalized we can actually hear it and we recommend that you DC the connection for mobility purpose when we're moving your down firefighter buddy breathing when addressing air supply air remaining after perform the search coupled with reduced air supply of the firefighter or firefighters that were found may not provide enough air to exit the structure searching for and then removing a downed firefighter takes a great deal of effort and increases your air consumption body breathing may be viable for inside pairs that run into reduced air situations and it may also work in the event that a downed firefighter is found by an inside crew a major disadvantage is that the air supply is shared and two people are now using whatever air supply is available before we can secure an air-supply it's important to talk about the different systems we have here in the O CFA we've got three different systems two versions of the AP 50 a version that we recently adopted from Santana and our newest AP 75 we'll talk about the components of each system how they function and how they integrate with one another for emergency air supply the most common version of the SCBA and harness that we have in the u.s. CFA is this ap 50 where we have a quick connect to the regulator a positive locking regulator to mount from the pressure reducer we have a female connect over the right shoulder and we have parachute style fasteners next we have a version of the AP 50 that we recently adopted from Santa Ana you can see here on the pressure reducer that inside this box power is driven from this area so your power supply comes from this area you have sixty degrees it's not free spinning so it locks at 60 degrees on your HUD display you'll have several different lights to green lights meaning you have 75 to 100% of air one green light means you have 51 to 75% of air one amber light means you have 26 to 50 percent of your air one red light means you have zero to 26 percent of your air and a blinking red light means you need to replace the battery for your HUD display if you come down you'll see off of the valve stem here you've got your Rick uaq stem and your connection off of the valve assembly here that's where you do your trans fill and inside the pouch on your lower left if you're wearing the SCBA you've got three three feet of low pressure line with a dual manifold for emergency buddy breathing well also separates this from the older style version the AP 50 is that we have an alligator clip here newest version of the Scot we have in service is the AP 75 you'll notice right off the bat we've got a carrying handle can also be used for dragging you down firefighter we have an angled gage for easier readout got your power supply to the lower right if you're wearing it to the lower left you got your Rikyu axe down adjacent to that we have three feet of low-pressure line with a dual manifold for emergency buddy breathing we have a HUD display on our regulator similar to other ap 50s adopted from santana sixty degrees of rotation but we also have a quick disconnect as well as with any new tool or skill in order to become proficient with it you must take it out and train with it take your scbas out and become intimately familiar with the mechanics of it as well as any other type that you may encounter in your area once an area that has to be practiced and reinforced is the sharing of a regulator in cases where you don't have the Rick pack and a firefighter has system failure be at the bottle or a regulator sharing a regulator may be your only option to provide air this requires a coordinated effort a challenge when removing a Down firefighter is maintaining a positive seal in his or her face piece length of your buddy breathing line limits any distance you can have from the victim be cognizant of your body position when providing air and removing the victim note that the firefighter rescuing the victim is aware of the e BSS hose length a lot of guys in the fire service have that mindset of Rick you know that Rick company is essentially you're in the penalty box or you're on a timeout for the incident yeah we all want to drop everything we're doing and run and go help but if you're on the roof keep ventilating if you're attacking the fire keep attacking the fire yes it's not as glamorous as going up to the roof cutting a hole or going inside making the knock on the fire with the attack line but I want to have someone that's out there knowing that if something goes wrong in that fire ground I got the best of the best outside they're in there to come to give me if I have to you the importance of the Rick team operation on any working fire incident it's imperative for all of our crews to remember it's for our own the Rick team needs to be aware of the ongoing situation on the incident understanding where fire suppression activities are taking place search and rescue salvage operations and where the tactical priorities are and what the incident commanders objectives are as the Rick team group supervisor it's your responsibility to assure that your crews are well trained have a good understanding of the building construction the fire behavior all the equipment that's going to assist your operation if it's necessary you need to practice and train for these operations don't wait for the incident to occur train at your own firehouse trained here at the tower and make sure that you're well prepared and be confident in what you're doing

Channel: OCFA Training

Views: 2,907

Rating: 4.8666668 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: zVxtgsQvu20

Length: 23min 21sec (1401 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 03 2019