Shortly before midnight Monday Skippack Fire Company was dispatched for a RIT assist to Lower Frederick at a middle of the row townhouse fire. On arrival they have heavy fire on several floors of the house with possible extension into neighboring homes. Crews did a good job quickly knocking down the fires and searching for any trapped victims. Mutual aid companies assisted with checking neighboring homes for extension and final extinguishment. Skippack served as the RIT team.
RIT is a Rapid Intervention Team who's primary purpose is to stand by at fire scenes and provide emergency assistance to firefighters in need of rescue. A firefighter may become lost in a smoke filled building, become injured inside a burning building, or falling through a floor are just a few examples of when a RIT team is put in service. In addition RIT performs other valuable safety functions on the fire ground, such as putting up ladders, monitoring building conditions, and other tasks to help keep firefighter safe on the fire ground.
