BCC INSTRUCTOR LEARNS LIFESAVING LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Supply - Firefighters are expected to know what to do in emergency situations but it takes hours of training to prepare them for the real thing. BCC instructor, Captain Zane Franks recently attended the Fire Department Training Network’s Training Academy, which is the most comprehensive Rapid Intervention Training (RIT) program available in the country. The course not only provides valuable safety skills for participants but it also prepared Captain Franks to teach the same course to firefighters throughout Brunswick County. The 40-hour “Train-the-Trainer” course prepared Captain Franks to offer local RIT and Fireground Survival courses which will include: Firefighter Survival, Firefighter Rescue, and Rapid Intervention Team Operations.

The Rapid Intervention Training program provides a systematic approach to firefighter survival and rescue by providing standard response training and improving compatibility of equipment between the different fire departments. The course integrates health and physical fitness programs and provides quarterly multi-department drills which help firefighters become prepared for the unknown. Without RIT, firefighters have a much higher risk of injury and even death. Shallotte Fire Chief Paul Dunwell plans to have his entire department trained in RIT and certified to the NC Firefighter II and Medical Responder levels. Chief Dunwell says, “Through this program I learned that understanding the basic firefighting and medical skills is essential to implementing an effective Rapid Intervention Team. Without obtaining the level of education offered by Brunswick Community College through the Firefighter II and the Medical Responder programs, one could easily find themselves in a situation they cannot overcome or effectively treat. We often train to help the community but we, as fire service professionals, often forget that we must train to help or even rescue ourselves.”