A firefighter assist and search team (FAST), also known as a rapid intervention team/rapid intervention crew/rapid intervention dispatch (RIT/RIC/RID), is a team of two or more firefighters dedicated solely to the search and rescue of other firefighters in distress. Firefighter Assist and Search Team personnel shall have no other operational assignment during any incident. Multiple alarm fires may require multiple FAST/RIC teams. Through the late 1960s and early 1970s the London Fire Brigade introduced RIT procedures using EATL (emergency air transfer lines) and EASE (emergency air supply equipment). This consisted of designated firefighter search and rescue teams (termed "emergency crews") stationed at

self-contained breathing apparatus A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), sometimes referred to as a compressed air breathing apparatus (CABA) or simply breathing apparatus (BA), is a device worn to provide breathable air in an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to ...

(SCBA) control entry points, equipped with emergency SCBA specifically designed to be worn by unconscious, injured or trapped firefighters. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the United States

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agenc ...

(OSHA) have requirements for some type of FAST/RIT at structure fires. These standards require that a minimum of two fire fighters be standing by in full

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, e ...

(PPE) while other crew members are working in a hazardous atmosphere. The standards are the result of a series of incidents where fire fighters became lost, trapped or disoriented while fighting a structure fire without a FAST present. The FAST concept is not universal, with many fire protection agencies training all personnel in rescue duties. Rescue teams are then designated based on apparatus order in the dispatch to a call in which standard operating procedures (SOPs) require that rescue teams be held at entry points. This is the basic concept of the

two-in, two-out In firefighting, the policy of two-in, two-out refers to United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) policy 29 CFR 1910.134(g)(4)(i) The respiratory protection standard requires that workers engaged in fighting interior str ...

rule. While all of these versions of the name for a firefighter rescue crew either have been used or continue to be used in several areas, the

National Incident Management System The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a standardized approach to incident management developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security. The program was established in March 2004, in response to Homeland Security Presidentia ...

(NIMS) has determined that rapid intervention crew (RIC) will be the standard term. Currently, U.S. federally required training programs, from

DHS The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-ter ...

and

FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

, are in the process of standardizing many terms and procedures under NIMS.

FAST equipment

FAST members are normally equipped with some or all of the following: *Full

turnout gear file:Chicago fire fighters walking.jpg, Firefighters in Chicago wearing rubber three-quarter boots and jacket file: Pompiersmtl.jpg, Firefighters in Montreal in full turnout gear during a fire Bunker gear (also known as turnout gear, fire kit a ...

Self-contained breathing apparatus A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), sometimes referred to as a compressed air breathing apparatus (CABA) or simply breathing apparatus (BA), is a device worn to provide breathable air in an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to ...

(SCBA) * Personal alert safety system (PASS device) *

Portable radio In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless, or simply a radio, is an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna. The ...

that uses the fireground frequency and is available to the

incident commander The incident commander is the person responsible for all aspects of an emergency response; including quickly developing incident objectives, managing all incident operations, application of resources as well as responsibility for all persons involv ...

*Hand tools * Hand light *Search

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*Rapid air transport (RAT) bag which slips over an SCBA bottle and holds an extra mask to tap into the bottle to provide a downed firefighter with air. This so-called RIT Bag was invented by Darrin Shaw, a firefighter with Central Pierce Fire and Rescue. The term ''RIT Bag'' is now widely used, but the trademark stays with RIT BAG from

Puyallup, Washington Puyallup ( or ) is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States, located about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Tacoma and 35 miles (56 km) south of Seattle. It had a population of 42,973 at the 2020 census. The city's name comes from th ...

References

* * {{Fire fighting Firefighting Fire and rescue in the United Kingdom