AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's a worst case scenario for firefighters, a fellow firefighter is down inside a burning building. What do they do next?
That's exactly what dozens of first responders are training for in Amherst on Sunday.
“It's critically important. We have to be able to save our own,” said former Buffalo Fire Department Commissioner Michael Lombardo.
It’s called RIT, rapid intervention training. It teaches these firefighter, who already think quickly on their feet in dangerous situations, to think quicker in even more dangerous situations.
“When firefighters need to be rescued this is the training that we do,” said David Morales, a firefighter with the Getzville Fire Department. They’re the ones hosting this training session. Firefighters came from all over New York and Canada to participate.
He says this exercise also trains them emotionally. It prepares them to stay calm when someone close them is in danger.
The goal is to make RIT as real as possible. The only thing that isn't real is the dummy they use to rescue.
