On April 17, the City of Opelika shared that the Mid South RC&D Council, an Alabama non-profit that works to meet community needs, awarded a $15,000 grant to the Opelika Fire Department for equipment. The grant will strengthen the department's ability to respond to high risk situations, aiding in the purchase of six Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) kits, which are vital tools that enhance a firefighter's safety during emergency actions, and better equipping the firefighter teams with specialized gear, which is designed to help rescue firefighters in distress.
Robert Parsons, community engagement officer of the Opelika Fire Department, shared that important items, such as an emergency breathing bottle and a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) face mask, are included in the kits.
"In the event that a firefighter falls down in a fire, one of the most vulnerable pieces of the firefighter's pieces of equipment is their face mask itself," Parsons said. "It's made from plastic, glass and rubber, and it can melt. So, the idea of a rapid intervention kit is we assume somebody is down, their mask is failed and we send in a team to get that firefighter and supply them with air and a good mask to cover their face, so that they can breathe."
However, despite its often flammable materials, a firefighter's air pack or SCBA boasts numerous safety features, including an alarm that can potentially save a firefighter's life.
"If a firefighter doesn't move when their air pack is on, if they're in the space of about 20 seconds, an alarm will start to sound," Parsons said. "That alarm will immediately stop as soon as the firefighter moves. If you've ever seen a fire scene and a firefighter standing around, you always see them shaking on their backpack, because on their air pack, they'll wobble it to keep the alarm from sounding. That alarm purpose is that if they do encounter problems and they fall or they're trapped somehow, that alarm makes an awful sound and that way, the RIT can locate the firefighter by moving toward the sound of their alarm."
On a normal day, a firefighting procedure and a protocol is in place. For example, if a team in a house fire must make a decision to fight the fire, the unit has a plan.
"When that decision is made, incoming engines take different roles, so we don't just send one truck to a fire. We'll send multiple trucks," Parsons said. "The first engine to arrive usually assumes the role of putting out the fire, while the incoming engines then take the rolls of establishing a RIT, and that is their entire job: to stand by and be ready with the RIT pack in the event that there are problems. Now 99.9% of the time, it's unnecessary, but we don't want to play with that 0.01%."
While the department has had RIT kits before, all equipment has a shelf life. Parsons said that it is standard procedure in firefighting to learn about RIT so that training, even in rookie school, is a key part of becoming a firefighter.
Additionally, the firefighter's work through different scenarios to prepare for real situations. Some examples include working through large amounts of smoke with zero visibility, going through the radio traffic to establish when a firefighter is down and even simulating experiences where people take a RIT pack to assist said firefighter.
"Fire departments take very seriously the responsibility of ensuring that we are safe and that the public are safe, so this is a job that the stakes are very high in, and we don't take for granted the dangers that are involved in firefighting," Parsons said.
Concerning equipment and safety needs, Parsons said that many advancements have been added to the firefighting practice, such as a ladder truck, which is a 1.4 million dollar acquisition. Other improved technology include lithium batteries and the jaws of life.
"Back in the day, the jaws of life were operated by hydraulics, and they were connected to a small engine that drove the hydraulics," Parsons said. "They were a lot more complicated to use, because they were attached to the small engine with hoses. The technology now is battery-operated jaws of life that you can pull off the truck and immediately use. That kind of advancement, it's more portable, more immediate. It saves time, and they're more intuitive to use now."
Recently, the EMA Department of the Lee County Emergency Management Agency has assisted the department with drone technology.
Fire Chief Shane Boyd shared his appreciation of the grant.
“We are grateful to receive this grant and appreciate the support from the Mid South RC&D Council,” Boyd said. “These Rapid Intervention Team kits will help ensure our firefighters have the equipment they need to protect one another while serving our community.”
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