| Maine Fire F.A.S.T. Team |
| What is a F.A.S.T. Team? |
F.A.S.T. stands for "Firefighter Assist and Search Team". The main purpose for its
formation is to have a highly trained and specialized group of firefighters to standby at fire scenes in
case other firefighters fall into trouble. This could result from collapses, flashovers, and deteriorating
conditions. In addition, firefighters can at times become disoriented or lost, resulting in personal injury
or entrapment among other things. When this happens, the F.A.S.T. team is there; ready and willing to do
whatever they can to ensure the safety of the firefighter(s) in their time of distress. This could involve
a number of strategies such as: going into the structure to locate and promptly move the firefighter(s) to
safety, conducting a rope rescue, staging a ladder rescue, or getting a R.I.T. pack to a downed firefighter.
The overall goal of the F.A.S.T. team is to ensure that every firefighter goes home safely when the job is
complete.
There are two types of F.A.S.T. members, Interior and Support. Interior F.A.S.T. members are highly trained
to be able to complete rescues under extremely strenuous and smoky conditions. The worst thing you can
hear is "MAYDAY, MAYDAY, FIREFIGHTER DOWN." The Interior F.A.S.T. members then effectively size
up the situation and take immediate action. The primary job of the F.A.S.T. support members is to assist
the Interior team in whatever ways necessary. This includes retrieving tools from the truck and making
them readily available to those on the scene, effectively setting up ladders and lights, and to keep a
close watch on the conditions from the outside when the Interior member’s presence is required inside.
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| How we started: |
In January of 2002, Maine firefighters were working at the scene of a house fire when a firefighter
partially fell through a floor and became trapped. A group of Whitney Point firefighters happen to be
standing by awaiting assignment and immediately went in and were able to free the trapped firefighter
and lead him out of the burning structure. After later reviewing the fire, a group of chiefs from the
Maine and Whitney Point fire departments decided something more was needed to be done to ensure
firefighter safety. After some research and a lot of intense training, each department started there
own F.A.S.T. To this date, the Maine F.A.S.T. has responded to numerous fires in northern Broome County
and thankfully has yet to be activated. Today, the Maine F.A.S.T. has partnered with other local
department’s F.A.S.T. teams, which include those of the Whitney Point and Choconut Center fire departments.
On average, we train together once per month to further develop our skills as well as experiment with new
ideas, inventions, and thoughts.
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| These are a few of the specialized tools we use for our F.A.S.T. Team as well as on other calls: |
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R.I.T. Pack – The R.I.T. (Rapid Intervention Team) Pack, also known as a R.I.C. (Rapid Intervention
Crew) Pack, is a S.C.B.A. bottle with a specially configured regulator and hose. This is used if a
firefighter is trapped, out of air, or if the air pack has suffered a malfunction. With this tool, we can
go in and hook the hose directly into the air pack and replenish the air supply to 4500psi. The bag also
includes 50ft. length of rope.
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Echo Saw – This is the saw we use when a firefighter is trapped and we need to cut away at an
object such as a wall in order to provide an alternate exit for the firefighter to get to safety.
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Vulcan Falcon Light – This is the hand light we use for F.A.S.T. calls. What is special about this
light is that it can be switched into a flashing pattern, so we can leave it in a spot to mark a door or
specific area and can be seen through the thick smoke. You can see it in action clicking the image and
view a msmedia video.
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Thermal Imager – This is a camera-like device that is able to see through smoke. The camera only
shows heat, with the darker areas being the coldest, and brightest being the warmest. Because the camera
is able to block out the smoke, it allows for a clear picture, thus making it faster and easier to find
the victim.
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Click to Enlarge | Rope Bag - The bag contains 100 feet of high strength rope with 2 heavy duty karabiners and a pulley. We use this to lower a firefighter out of a building from large heights.
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New York Hooks – These hooks are used when a firefighter is down and we have an easy path to get
them out. The poles go under the victims S.C.B.A straps on both sides, and with a firefighter each end,
they are able to lift the poles and carry the victim out.
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A.E.D – A large amount of firefighter deaths are caused by heart attacks, so we always have the
defibrillator with us so we can be prepared to resuscitate a victim if they do have a heart attack. Also,
in conjunction with the Maine Emergency Squad, we are automatic to respond to any emergency involving a
victim reportedly not breathing within the fire district.
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T-N-T Bar – This bar is used to knock down anything that gets in our way! It’s a sledgehammer,
axe, and pry bar all in one. It’s used to make forcible entry, and to go through walls and windows.
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Accountability Board – This board is used at fires to keep track of who is inside, where they are,
and who they’re with. This way, if something does happen to a firefighter inside, we will have a good
idea of where they are as where others are.
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Bail Out Bag - These are rope bags we keep in the pant pocket of our bunker gear. They are 50 ft.
lengths of high strength rope that can serve many useful purposes. Most commonly, they are used to
lower/raise tools and lower victims. They can also be used as a search line or drag line, and in extreme
circumstances can also be hooked to an anchor point and allow a firefighter to escape fire by descending
to the ground out a window.
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