Getzville Fire Company Hosts Unique RIT Training Weekend

By Past Chief Bob Zacher
Getzville Fire Company

The Getzville Fire Company of Amherst, NY hosted its eighth annual GRIT training weekend on May 15 and 16, 2021. GRIT (Getzville Rapid Intervention Training) is a hands-on training program that uses elaborate props and scenarios to train firefighters to save their own.

GRIT weekend evolved from an in-house rapid intervention training program that grew in complexity and scope. After remaining in-house for several years, Getzville leadership felt it was important to open the program to encourage standardized training throughout the area.

Hallmarks of the program are its props and facilities, low student to instructor ratio, and emphasis on hands-on training. The headlining instructors were Commissioner (Ret.) Michael Lombardo and Division Chief Michael Tuberdyke of the Buffalo Fire Department. Many of the finest local instructors were recruited to fill out the instructional cadre.

Over the winter, several Getzville members and program instructors spent hundreds of hours working to build props and scenarios for the rescue training. Many were based, at least loosely, on case studies of firefighter line of duty deaths.

On the first day of the training, students were broken into groups and sent to one of eight skills stations. In each of the stations, students reinforced or learned skills that would be necessary to solve the scenarios set up for the next day. In the year following the tragic loss of Daryl Gordon of the Cincinnati Fire Department, a 22-foot-tall elevator shaft was constructed as an attachment to Getzville’s training facility to recreate the incident. Other scenarios have included entrapment under a collapsed HVAC roof top unit, impalements, stair and floor collapses, etc. The Saturday skill stations were:

Maze: Students navigated a SCBA confidence course that strengthened personal survival skills and the ability to maneuver through obstacles with no visibility.

Wall Breach/Emergency Air: Each year, a 32-foot long, 4-foot-high concrete block wall is erected, and each group is given a section of the wall to breach. Participants also spent time reviewing RIT kits and practicing “hot” face piece and regulator changes.

Forcible Entry/Exiting: Using conventional hand tools, students practiced forcing inward and outward opening doors. Emphasis was placed on commercial occupancies and using the irons to drive out fasteners for drop bars, panic hardware, and other non-standard lock mechanisms.

Basement Rescues: Firefighters were taught how to rescue other firefighters through the small openings of a basement window.

Emergency Lifting: Students were taught to quickly lift heavy objects to allow a pinned firefighter to be removed. The primary emphasis was on using tools and equipment that are readily available to make the lift while waiting for heavier equipment to be delivered.

Enlarged Openings: A 10-foot by 10-foot “house” was constructed with multiple windows. Each group broke out a glass block basement window and learned to cut a window into a door with a chain saw.

Below Grade Rescues: Students learned how to raise a fallen firefighter from the floor below under the realistic conditions of a spongy floor and a hole that had to be enlarged for ease of egress.

Drags and Carries: Basic packaging and moving of firefighters was reviewed and practiced. Teams took part in a timed competition that was derived from Jim Crawford’s Pittsburgh drill.

On the second day of class, groups participated in a "live fire" fire behavior/rollover class in Getzville’s Class A burn container, as well as advanced handlines through hoarder conditions. They also progressed through several scenarios that built up to a final scenario, in which all students took part.

The scenarios attempted to reinforce the skills learned the day before, but also challenged the students to perform these skills under difficult conditions such as low visibility, uneven footing, and with restricted access. All scenarios were carefully watched and critiqued by the instructional staff.

One unique aspect of the GRIT program is the Command Class. Each year, a maximum of six officers can enroll in this class. Students were mentored by Chief Tuberdyke and Chief Matt Osinski (Buffalo Fire Department) on sizing up and mitigating firefighter rescue situations. On the second day, the command students served as the command officers during the scenarios. This provided an excellent opportunity for officers to learn and practice the craft of command under challenging but realistic conditions.

The development of the GRIT program illustrates the commitment members of the Getzville Fire Company have to firefighter safety. It took the effort of the entire company and its auxiliary to put on the event. In addition to the construction crew and instructional staff, a support staff of over 30 volunteers spent all weekend working at the event.

View photos of the training by Julia Hourigan here.