This type of training is also commonly referred to as “Saving Our Own” training. Davie firefighters demonstrate the ability to call a “Mayday” under various emergency situations they may find themselves in, including being trapped or lost in a room, having something collapse on them, being snagged on wires or falling through a floor or roof. These conditions were realistically simulated using various props with the firefighter in full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), with a portable radio and wearing a blacked-out face mask. A Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) was then activated to search the structure for the lost and/or trapped firefighters. Once located, they had to free them and safely remove them from the structure.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have requirements for RIT at structure fires. These standards require that a minimum of two firefighters stand by in full personal protective equipment while other crew members are working in a hazardous atmosphere. This is the basic concept of the “two-in, two out” rule practiced by many fire rescue departments, including Davie Fire Rescue. The standards are the result of a series of incidents where firefighters became lost, trapped, or disoriented while fighting a structure fire without a Rapid Intervention Team present.