By JOSEPH PRONESTI
It can be “fool’s gold” to believe that your three- or four-member rapid intervention team (RIT) will suffice when combating a fire in a group of attached structures of ordinary construction. Let’s compare how most smaller departments handle RIT at a typical residential fire vs. a three-story building of legacy construction.
Deputy Chief (Ret.) Anthony Avillo, North Hudson (NJ) Regional Fire and Rescue, has stated that fires in continuous structures can be a “manpower sponge.” A working fire in a commercial building (especially one at the middle of a block) has the potential to spread, necessitating double the number of firefighters on scene as compared to a fire in a residential building. Also, depending on the size of your department, several departments may be on scene. So, how are the two responses - to residential vs. commercial buildings - different?
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