Holmdel Firefighters Form a Rapid Intervention Team

At a fire scene, there are firefighters who enter burning buildings. And then there are firefighters who’ve got their backs, prepared to rush in to rescue a trapped comrade.

Until now, the Holmdel Fire Department has never had its own Rapid Intervention Team at the ready. But after the successful completion of four days of rigorous training at the Monmouth County Fire Academy in Freehold, 18 out of 26 Holmdel Fire & Rescue Company Number 2 members who took the training earned their certificates on July 17. 

“If Hazlet or Aberdeen has a big fire, like two houses on fire, you need multiple RIT teams standing by,” said company President John Boyle. Holmdel will be able to help, he said, just as other municipalities with RIT teams such as Middletown, Union Beach, Keyport, and Hazlet.

The training was conducted on the evenings of July 6 and 12, and then all day on July 16 and 17. The intense summer heat was hard on the members, said Boyle. The members worked together to do things like drag a 250-lb fallen firefighter through a building and down a ladder in a simulated ceiling collapse situation.

“Your RIT team is trained to rescue other fireman,” said John Boyle Jr. “You want your most highly trained and most respected members going in.”

The members also had to lower firemen through holes in the floors, as well as in and out of windows, and drag firefighters across large open spaces with numerous obstacles.  

The training concentrated on increasing good communication skills, teamwork, and effective problem solving.

“This RIT training is a part of a series of advanced firefighter skills trainings which the new 2011 fire officers have been aggressively pursuing, allowing us to expedite the acclimation of our new and more sophisticated equipment,” said company Chief John Boyle Sr. in a release.

Advanced training will continue at the firehouse, with sessions scheduled in August for the proper use of firefighter bailout bags and advanced vehicle extrication certification. 

During the training sessions, Holmdel Township fire coverage through mutual aid agreements with neighboring fire departments. Union Beach Fire Company's White Company 65-3 stood by at the Centerville road station.

And Hazlet Fire Company #1 39-1 and Colts Neck 84-1 made themselves available for the north and south side of Holmdel, respectively, said Chief Boyle.