Volunteer, career professionals train together for the worst
Volunteers and career firefighters from across the region will now work better than ever together thanks to state-of-the-art training and a generous donation from Vienna-based H2 Land Company.
Trainers from both the Arcola-Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Department (APVVFD) and Loudoun County Department of Fire-Rescue jointly conducted Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) training for three-months recently at a farm on Gum Spring Road. A RIT is a team of firefighters sent into a building if another firefighter on the attack or search team becomes trapped, or unresponsive.
“This is one of the most difficult and demanding jobs on the fireground,"said APVVFD Chief Matt Shultz. “The situation has deteriorated enough already that one firefighter is now trapped. Their job is to rescue that individual and get themselves out safely as well. It’s vital for our personnel, whether from the volunteer or career side, to be able to get themselves and their firefighting team members out safely. When the heat comes down, the color of the helmet doesn’t matter to a firefighter.”
During the training, firefighters crawled through small openings, breached walls, climbed down broken stairs, rescued and performed emergency air breathing techniques, all to rescue a 165-pound training mannequin. And all of it was done under the dark and smoky conditions firefighters usually face.
“Unlike the fires you see on your favorite TV dramas or in the movies, it’s nearly pitch black inside a room filled with smoke and fire,” Shultz said. “Minus the fire, this kind of training simulates the real life obstacles the firefighters would encounter during a real firefighter emergency.”
Over two hundred and fifty firefighters were sent through the RIT House for training over a three month period.
“This invaluable training would not have been possible without the generous donation of land and buildings from the H2 Land Company,” Shultz added. “As development continues in and around the Dulles South area, local fire departments depend on those acquired structures for training exercises. It’s not often that we get buildings suitable for our uses and when we do, we want to make the most of them.”
For further information see; www.h2land.com or www.arcolavfd.org.