AFS1970

This brings up a sore point for me, that alarm companies rarely have actual information that is useful to either dispatchers or responders in making such a decision. After an experience in my old VFD when a large and seemingly reputable alarm company canceled a call, so the 1st due engine downgraded the response only to arrive and be met with the statement from the homeowner, "it was only a small fire" I am extremely suspicious of anything I get from them. When working in dispatch and an alarm company calls to cancel either a burglar or fire alarm (including CO) I have started asking for 3 things.
#1 the name of the keyholder who canceled the alarm. You would be amazed at the number of times the alarm company has only a first name or only a last name yet accepted a cancellation from Bob or Mr. Smith.
#2 is that keyholder on premises or not. Especially in a city where many residents work out of town, knowing that the homeowner is in NYC in an office building means that he really is not qualified to cancel any alarms in CT right now.
#3 What set off the alarm / reason for cancellation. I would say that 8 or 9 times out of 10 the only reason is that they got the password. Sometimes we are lucky enough to get, it was probably the cleaning lady (from that out of town keyholder).
So how does this factor into silent dispatch for the FD, well you are going to a fire alarm I just sent you to. All of a sudden I call the responding Chief and say that the alarm company is trying to cancel. Now in my city we never cancel fire alarms but will downgrade to a single engine, but that decision is being made on faulty information most of the time. So what would you do? Would you turn off the lights and siren? Then you get there to a fire because some guy reached on his cell phone while vacationing across the country knew the password was teddy bear.
Now same scenario and I relay to you that the alarm company is trying to cancel based on an off site keyholder who can give no cause for the alarm. Now you have some info (or at least a confirmed lack of it) to work with.
Maybe even the lucky third option. The alarm company is trying to cancel, homeowner is home and reports accidental activation due to steam from a shower. Now we have enough credible info to work with, all the switches go off some units head back to the barn and we reduce the risk to the public, our people and even our equipment.

I do not agree with the WBC but I also have never agreed with the designation of any group as a hate group. I do not agree with the class warefare inherant in the hate crimes legislation. Guess what it is already illegal to assault and murder people, the hate crimes bill made some victims just a little bit more important than other victims, which goes against the constitutional concepts of equality that we hold dear in this country. Labeling a group, even as repulsive a group as WBC as a hate group will begin to erode the freedoms of religion that have been a major part of our contry since before it was a country. Anyone remember why the Pilgrims came here? We need to stringly guard against the lableing of any church as less of a church than any other church.
As for keeping them out of an area, well I would not do that unless I was asked to by the owner of the property, but I would see nothing wrong with having twice as many people line up in between WBC and whatever event they were trying to protest. I would never tell them not to speak, but I might try to speak louder than them or block their signs from the view of the families. I can tell you that the Patriot Riders are good, but they can notbe everywhere at once. There were many allied groups standing along side of them at one event in my town. I think the key is to respond to WBC's peaceful excercise of their rights with a peaceful excercise our our own rights, the key word being peaceful.
Lets not forget that there are religous groups that preach a much more hateful and violent message than WBC and we still allow them to go about their bussiness. Further discussion of that would probably get me kicked off of the internet, let alone this site, so I will stop there.

Believe it or not, what makes this country so great is the fact that everybody's beliefs and public assemblies, as righteous or as disgusting as they may be, are Constiutionally protected.
While I think that Westboro has some of the most hideous, disgusting beliefs out there, the mere fact that the Constitution allows for their existence, means that you, me, and everyone else here has the same right. So why spend all the time, effort, and money on a court case (because you know that's what will happen) to have them branded as a hate group? Instead, we as a community should come together, using the same Constituionally-protected rights, and block their protest. Let's get all of our engines, ladders, ambulances, police cars, and everything else together, make a ring around the cemetaries and churches, and keep them out as a community. It will not be a court victory; rather, it will be a symbolic victory that will speak many more volumes than something that cannot be settled in the judiciary.

Do they advocate violence? No. Has the church or any prominent member of the church been accused of violence? No.
Do they speak unfathomable hate? Yes. Do I fundamentally disagree with their speech? Yes. Do they have a right to their speech? Yes.
What will labeling this group as a legally recognized do? Absolutely nothing, they will still be able to protest funerals and spew their hate speech. Do I agree with it? No, but god damn it they have a right to speak it and you better believe that they can and will defend their right. We can condemn their speech in the strongest terms but we can not limit their speech no matter how extreme it is. So long as their speech does not violate any law, there is absolutely no choice but to accept the fact that they are entitled to their speech.
What you see as "push the 1st amendment to the extreme" I, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States, see as simply exercising their right to 1st amendment speech protection. If you don't like what they say, don't listen but they have not broken any laws and thus you have no right to limit their speech.

This brings up a sore point for me, that alarm companies rarely have actual information that is useful to either dispatchers or responders in making such a decision. After an experience in my old VFD when a large and seemingly reputable alarm company canceled a call, so the 1st due engine downgraded the response only to arrive and be met with the statement from the homeowner, "it was only a small fire" I am extremely suspicious of anything I get from them. When working in dispatch and an alarm company calls to cancel either a burglar or fire alarm (including CO) I have started asking for 3 things.
#1 the name of the keyholder who canceled the alarm. You would be amazed at the number of times the alarm company has only a first name or only a last name yet accepted a cancellation from Bob or Mr. Smith.
#2 is that keyholder on premises or not. Especially in a city where many residents work out of town, knowing that the homeowner is in NYC in an office building means that he really is not qualified to cancel any alarms in CT right now.
#3 What set off the alarm / reason for cancellation. I would say that 8 or 9 times out of 10 the only reason is that they got the password. Sometimes we are lucky enough to get, it was probably the cleaning lady (from that out of town keyholder).
So how does this factor into silent dispatch for the FD, well you are going to a fire alarm I just sent you to. All of a sudden I call the responding Chief and say that the alarm company is trying to cancel. Now in my city we never cancel fire alarms but will downgrade to a single engine, but that decision is being made on faulty information most of the time. So what would you do? Would you turn off the lights and siren? Then you get there to a fire because some guy reached on his cell phone while vacationing across the country knew the password was teddy bear.
Now same scenario and I relay to you that the alarm company is trying to cancel based on an off site keyholder who can give no cause for the alarm. Now you have some info (or at least a confirmed lack of it) to work with.
Maybe even the lucky third option. The alarm company is trying to cancel, homeowner is home and reports accidental activation due to steam from a shower. Now we have enough credible info to work with, all the switches go off some units head back to the barn and we reduce the risk to the public, our people and even our equipment.

This brings up a sore point for me, that alarm companies rarely have actual information that is useful to either dispatchers or responders in making such a decision. After an experience in my old VFD when a large and seemingly reputable alarm company canceled a call, so the 1st due engine downgraded the response only to arrive and be met with the statement from the homeowner, "it was only a small fire" I am extremely suspicious of anything I get from them. When working in dispatch and an alarm company calls to cancel either a burglar or fire alarm (including CO) I have started asking for 3 things.
#1 the name of the keyholder who canceled the alarm. You would be amazed at the number of times the alarm company has only a first name or only a last name yet accepted a cancellation from Bob or Mr. Smith.
#2 is that keyholder on premises or not. Especially in a city where many residents work out of town, knowing that the homeowner is in NYC in an office building means that he really is not qualified to cancel any alarms in CT right now.
#3 What set off the alarm / reason for cancellation. I would say that 8 or 9 times out of 10 the only reason is that they got the password. Sometimes we are lucky enough to get, it was probably the cleaning lady (from that out of town keyholder).
So how does this factor into silent dispatch for the FD, well you are going to a fire alarm I just sent you to. All of a sudden I call the responding Chief and say that the alarm company is trying to cancel. Now in my city we never cancel fire alarms but will downgrade to a single engine, but that decision is being made on faulty information most of the time. So what would you do? Would you turn off the lights and siren? Then you get there to a fire because some guy reached on his cell phone while vacationing across the country knew the password was teddy bear.
Now same scenario and I relay to you that the alarm company is trying to cancel based on an off site keyholder who can give no cause for the alarm. Now you have some info (or at least a confirmed lack of it) to work with.
Maybe even the lucky third option. The alarm company is trying to cancel, homeowner is home and reports accidental activation due to steam from a shower. Now we have enough credible info to work with, all the switches go off some units head back to the barn and we reduce the risk to the public, our people and even our equipment.

This brings up a sore point for me, that alarm companies rarely have actual information that is useful to either dispatchers or responders in making such a decision. After an experience in my old VFD when a large and seemingly reputable alarm company canceled a call, so the 1st due engine downgraded the response only to arrive and be met with the statement from the homeowner, "it was only a small fire" I am extremely suspicious of anything I get from them. When working in dispatch and an alarm company calls to cancel either a burglar or fire alarm (including CO) I have started asking for 3 things.
#1 the name of the keyholder who canceled the alarm. You would be amazed at the number of times the alarm company has only a first name or only a last name yet accepted a cancellation from Bob or Mr. Smith.
#2 is that keyholder on premises or not. Especially in a city where many residents work out of town, knowing that the homeowner is in NYC in an office building means that he really is not qualified to cancel any alarms in CT right now.
#3 What set off the alarm / reason for cancellation. I would say that 8 or 9 times out of 10 the only reason is that they got the password. Sometimes we are lucky enough to get, it was probably the cleaning lady (from that out of town keyholder).
So how does this factor into silent dispatch for the FD, well you are going to a fire alarm I just sent you to. All of a sudden I call the responding Chief and say that the alarm company is trying to cancel. Now in my city we never cancel fire alarms but will downgrade to a single engine, but that decision is being made on faulty information most of the time. So what would you do? Would you turn off the lights and siren? Then you get there to a fire because some guy reached on his cell phone while vacationing across the country knew the password was teddy bear.
Now same scenario and I relay to you that the alarm company is trying to cancel based on an off site keyholder who can give no cause for the alarm. Now you have some info (or at least a confirmed lack of it) to work with.
Maybe even the lucky third option. The alarm company is trying to cancel, homeowner is home and reports accidental activation due to steam from a shower. Now we have enough credible info to work with, all the switches go off some units head back to the barn and we reduce the risk to the public, our people and even our equipment.

CAD systems can do allot of interesting things, but I have found that with the 3 I have worked with, there are often functions that are designed for one service that end up getting adapted for another service. The best example was on an old system we no longer use, there was a unit status called Transport, it updated the location of a call to reflect a unit was enroute to a 2nd location (there was also a way to arrive them there). This was designed for EMS, and the icon was an ambuolance going towards a hospital, however we ended up also using it to track prisoner transports from scene to jail which was essentially the same thing.
Our current CAD system is set up for multiple fire districts to each have their own protocol. Sadly this does not extend to the police side of things, although I have put that in as a request for the next upgrade. This allows for a different response to a high rise as opposed to a low rise (as long as you identify all those buildings. We even have a different response set up for limited access highways on some incident types. We can do this for EMS too, but only use that in one small section of town. THe police would benefit greatly in my opinion if they could designate target hazards to have a different protocol. Maybe a missing person at a school or a disturbance at a government building or an alarm at a bank or a jewelry store might warrant a different response than other calls at other locations.
One thing we try to do when loading information is typing the date we added it in, so that eveyone sees CURRENT AS OF and a date so that anything that is not updated is known to possibly be out f date.

Here are a couple of related patches. THe first is for a Red Cross Disaster Team. I think it is kind of a busy looking design with all the disasters clumped together. The second is the old CD logo, polain and simple, but now out of date.

I am personally a fan of the old red white and blue Civil Defense Logo. I have seen one updated that replaced the CD with EM, but it seemed to lack something. I don't know if if was because the agency is usually known as OEM or if it was because E & M don't look like oposite semicircles the way C & D do. I am not that big a fan of the crest design in general or in the way that they often get divided into sections like that as the content of the sections inevitably end up stepping on someones toes. I remember seeing a badge center in a catalog once that was a purple square withe a white triangle inside it and no lettering. It always looked more corporate to me than public safety. Once thought is to include the black on white skyline that is part of the CERT logo, as CERTs are usually part of OEM.

Let me tell ya a few things about them bastard dispatchers.....I know a little bit.
First off - it sucks. But it is OK too...
It is a GOOD living, but obviously not as "fun" or "glorious" as our police, fire, and even EMS counterparts.
The BIGGEST thing I have noticied in over 15 years "in the chair" is that EVERYONE in the field thinks they could do it better, or things could be done different. Everyone in a uniform has IDEALS, but dispatchers have PROTOCOLS. For the most part the voice ont he radio doesnt make those protocol, but we are bound to adhere to them. So if you get angry or frustrated - direct that to the policy makers, not the person on the other end of the radio.
We get it from every direction...and speaking from MY job, literally everyone is our superioir...I am the #5 on my job senority wise..I been around, yet even the newest, junior cop or fireman tells me what to do...but that is part of MY job...other agencies are different..they have a more structured, Dispatch Command..we are under the authority of the Police Watch Commander and FD Shift Commander...yet there is still a small army of Sergeants, Liuetenant, Captains, Chiefs, and Deputy Chiefs that can change it all with a simple command...
EVERY shift is run different - under the direction of the Watch Commander..so if you are like me, and work OT on different shifts..you had BETTER do i tTHAT bosses way..
You guys get to SEE your jurasdiction every day - you know it intimately..hell I been working in our City for 12 years and I dont know ALOT of the streets,..Yes, I know what police post they are on, who to send, and even what fire truck is first due - but I have been "lost" on the southside of our city as recently as last week..we dont get out to see it enough, if at all. Sure maps, and CAD are nice - but there is no subsitute for actual street time. Some agencies make "ride time" a part of training - and thats awesome.
"They dont give us enough info.." Yep...true. But we give you all of what we can get from our callers - which in an urban setting like mine - sometimes is just an address...if I had a dollar for everytime a caller said - "just send the M F'ing cops/Ambulance" I could retire to the Keys with George..LOL. And if we give alot of info - we are met with "headquarters - get off the air.." There is NO happy median it seems sometimes.
Dont get me wrong - I am NOT defending all dispatchers - I have worked with some real turds...but thankfully, for the most part - we weed them out. Not all...but alot..this job is not for everyone.
I will openly admit that this is NOT what I pictured myself doing...well, it is not what I wanted to do..anyone who knows me knows I should be on a firetruck for 40 hours a week, but I do not regret it one bit. I have a good life and make good money...I can support my family well, we own a house, 2 cars, and a dog...the American Dream, right? I am heads and shoulders above where my parents where at my age. I stay cool in the summer, warm in the winter, park in a secure parking agarge, and can surf Bravo for 8 hours a day. For that I am very thankful.
One of the things I cherish the most about my job is RESPECT. The guys on the other side of the radio - be it police or fire, appreciate me and the job I do..I take care of "my guys"..they know when the crap hits the fan in a foot pursuit that I am right there with them, and help is on the way. I know how the FD operates and usually have what the Captain requests done or ready to be done. I do my job well, because lives of cops and firemen depend on it. I have actually been written up for two commendations by Fire Lieutenants after tough, hectic, SCARY jobs for my actions in assisting them...both times they were denied because, "he is just a dispatcher...". Who cares....it's the RESPECT from those guys that mean more to me than ANY peice of paper signed by the Mayor.
So yeah, dispatching sucks..but it pays the bills. And I know that there are a few guys out there that know we really DO make a difference. So cut us some slack...or take the test and get "in the chair."

We will never stick together in the Emergency Services as long as we are competing for limited tax dollars. It doesn't matter if it is Dispatchers vs the Field units or Police Vs Fire or whatever. That is the sad reality. One thing that this computerized system will not beable to do is effectively prioritize calls that come in a split second apart. It is easy to send the first due engine on the first call in their district, but when you are first reading that call and another higher one comes in that is a higher priority, somepeople would say that the few seconds it takes for a human to read that call might have been a good thing.
However with the Next Generation 9-1-1 coming where people can text their calls to the PSAP, and with the existing use of touch tones keys for various menus, some moron will probably invent a system that does not require human call takers, which will be blended with the computer dispatching and the bosses will pat themselves on the back for increasing efficiency and reducing labor costs. The guys in the field will wave goodbye to us as we turn out the lights in the dispatch center and then will be shocked when the first Robot Firefighter is put into service.
Doesn't anyone remember RoboCop? Do you want Omni Consumer Products running your department?

You have reached 911, press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, 3 for JUST CONNECT ME ALEADY!!!!
After reading this topic last night I tuned into Wake County and caught a structure fire, it was interesting something that would take time to get used to but it does take away any sense of urgency to a call with no emotion given during the dispatch.

We will never stick together in the Emergency Services as long as we are competing for limited tax dollars. It doesn't matter if it is Dispatchers vs the Field units or Police Vs Fire or whatever. That is the sad reality. One thing that this computerized system will not beable to do is effectively prioritize calls that come in a split second apart. It is easy to send the first due engine on the first call in their district, but when you are first reading that call and another higher one comes in that is a higher priority, somepeople would say that the few seconds it takes for a human to read that call might have been a good thing.
However with the Next Generation 9-1-1 coming where people can text their calls to the PSAP, and with the existing use of touch tones keys for various menus, some moron will probably invent a system that does not require human call takers, which will be blended with the computer dispatching and the bosses will pat themselves on the back for increasing efficiency and reducing labor costs. The guys in the field will wave goodbye to us as we turn out the lights in the dispatch center and then will be shocked when the first Robot Firefighter is put into service.
Doesn't anyone remember RoboCop? Do you want Omni Consumer Products running your department?

Why is anyone advocating in favor of laying people off? Shouln't emergency services be sticking together not turning against each other?

Date: 12/25/2011
Time: 04:51
Location: Next to 2241 Shippan Av (on Shippan Point at tip of peninsula)
Frequency: Stamford Trunked
Units Operating: E4, E1, E2, E3, E5 (RIT), T1, R1, U4 (Command), E6, T2 (2nd Alarm), M1, M3, M901 (EMS Supervisor), M4, M92 (Fly Car), U7 (Safety), FM102, SPD: 3B, 3A, 8S2(Sgt), 2C, 2B, 8D (Lt/Shift Commander), E7, E9 (Relocated to 1 Co), E34 (Replaced E9 at 1Co) E7, T3 (Third Alarm),T45 (Relocated to 1Co), E8 (Relocated to 4Co), E34 (Relocated to 1Co), Greenwich/Sound Beach E51 (Relocated to 3Co).
Weather Conditions: Cold & Clear
Description Of Incident: Initial call from next door neighbor for house fire. Extra Engine sent due to closer units clearing from previous call at time of report. Multiple calls received prior to 1st due engine arriving.
E4 on scene reporting 2 1/2 story wood frame residence with heavy fire on A/D corner. U4 arrived on scene and called for 2nd alarm due to reports of multiple trapped residents on 2nd floor. SPD reported 2 elderly and 3 children trapped. Initial EMS response was 2 Ambulances (1 for victims & 1 for responders), M901 called for all EMS units (Additional Ambulance & Fly Car) to respond. Greenwich EMS dispatched on separate call prior to arriving at town line for stand by. Southwest C-Med coordinating EMS move ups. GFD, TRFD, BFD & SPFD toned out for station coverage due to E6 operating & E7,E8,E9,E34 & T45 relocating to downtown district. C1 (Chief of Department on scene).
U4 transmitted at 05:26, that this would be an Exterior Defensive operation.
Third Alarm called at 05:32. Further units relocated to 1Co.
Reporters: AFS1970
Writer: AFS1970

Date: 12/25/2011
Time: 04:51
Location: Next to 2241 Shippan Av (on Shippan Point at tip of peninsula)
Frequency: Stamford Trunked
Units Operating: E4, E1, E2, E3, E5 (RIT), T1, R1, U4 (Command), E6, T2 (2nd Alarm), M1, M3, M901 (EMS Supervisor), M4, M92 (Fly Car), U7 (Safety), FM102, SPD: 3B, 3A, 8S2(Sgt), 2C, 2B, 8D (Lt/Shift Commander), E7, E9 (Relocated to 1 Co), E34 (Replaced E9 at 1Co) E7, T3 (Third Alarm),T45 (Relocated to 1Co), E8 (Relocated to 4Co), E34 (Relocated to 1Co), Greenwich/Sound Beach E51 (Relocated to 3Co).
Weather Conditions: Cold & Clear
Description Of Incident: Initial call from next door neighbor for house fire. Extra Engine sent due to closer units clearing from previous call at time of report. Multiple calls received prior to 1st due engine arriving.
E4 on scene reporting 2 1/2 story wood frame residence with heavy fire on A/D corner. U4 arrived on scene and called for 2nd alarm due to reports of multiple trapped residents on 2nd floor. SPD reported 2 elderly and 3 children trapped. Initial EMS response was 2 Ambulances (1 for victims & 1 for responders), M901 called for all EMS units (Additional Ambulance & Fly Car) to respond. Greenwich EMS dispatched on separate call prior to arriving at town line for stand by. Southwest C-Med coordinating EMS move ups. GFD, TRFD, BFD & SPFD toned out for station coverage due to E6 operating & E7,E8,E9,E34 & T45 relocating to downtown district. C1 (Chief of Department on scene).
U4 transmitted at 05:26, that this would be an Exterior Defensive operation.
Third Alarm called at 05:32. Further units relocated to 1Co.
Reporters: AFS1970
Writer: AFS1970

Date: 12/25/2011
Time: 04:51
Location: Next to 2241 Shippan Av (on Shippan Point at tip of peninsula)
Frequency: Stamford Trunked
Units Operating: E4, E1, E2, E3, E5 (RIT), T1, R1, U4 (Command), E6, T2 (2nd Alarm), M1, M3, M901 (EMS Supervisor), M4, M92 (Fly Car), U7 (Safety), FM102, SPD: 3B, 3A, 8S2(Sgt), 2C, 2B, 8D (Lt/Shift Commander), E7, E9 (Relocated to 1 Co), E34 (Replaced E9 at 1Co) E7, T3 (Third Alarm),T45 (Relocated to 1Co), E8 (Relocated to 4Co), E34 (Relocated to 1Co), Greenwich/Sound Beach E51 (Relocated to 3Co).
Weather Conditions: Cold & Clear
Description Of Incident: Initial call from next door neighbor for house fire. Extra Engine sent due to closer units clearing from previous call at time of report. Multiple calls received prior to 1st due engine arriving.
E4 on scene reporting 2 1/2 story wood frame residence with heavy fire on A/D corner. U4 arrived on scene and called for 2nd alarm due to reports of multiple trapped residents on 2nd floor. SPD reported 2 elderly and 3 children trapped. Initial EMS response was 2 Ambulances (1 for victims & 1 for responders), M901 called for all EMS units (Additional Ambulance & Fly Car) to respond. Greenwich EMS dispatched on separate call prior to arriving at town line for stand by. Southwest C-Med coordinating EMS move ups. GFD, TRFD, BFD & SPFD toned out for station coverage due to E6 operating & E7,E8,E9,E34 & T45 relocating to downtown district. C1 (Chief of Department on scene).
U4 transmitted at 05:26, that this would be an Exterior Defensive operation.
Third Alarm called at 05:32. Further units relocated to 1Co.
Reporters: AFS1970
Writer: AFS1970

Date: 10/22/2011
Time: 01:53
Location: 1156 Newfield Ave
Frequency: Stamford Trunked
Units Operating: E7, E8, E6, E62, E9, E41, E1, T1, T45, T3, R1, R54, U4, U7 (Safety), U60, C411 (Command), M4, M3, M901, FM108, SPD
Weather Conditions: Cool & Clear
Description Of Incident: Muliple calls for a house fire, conflicting reports of people trapped on roof and inside. Large house party was going on at time of fire. C411 arrived and reported fire through the roof. E8 arrived and added to size up heavy fire throughout 1st & 2nd floors calling for 2nd alarm. C411 assumed command. SPD confirmed nobody on trapped on roof.
Reporters: AFS1970
Writer: AFS1970

Date: 10/14/2011
Time: 02:34
Location: i95 Southbound, Between exits 6 & 5
Frequency: Multiple
Units Operating: E3,R1,M1,M3,M901,GEMS,GFD,CT State Police
Weather Conditions: Heavy Rain, Lightning
Description Of Incident: Initial reports of 4 tractor trailers and several cars involved in collision. State PD requested a 2nd ambulance prior to any EMS arrival. R1 extricated some patients. S/B I95 shut down and all traffic diverted onto surface roads in Stamford and Greenwich. Back up causing traffic to leave highway well before official diversion at exit 6. DEP requested for several leaking saddle fuel tanks. U.S. Coast Guard notified due to fuel spill proximity to Long Island Sound.
Reporters: AFS1970
Writer: AFS1970

First and foremost I am against the idea of a special team within a department as your FAST/RIT. I believe that this important aspect of training should be started at the basic level, and built on from there right along side of other firefighting skills. Every single member of your department needs to be able to function as the FAST/RIT.
This is for two main reasons, as Izzy pointed out, statistics have shown that a crew member involved in Firefighter removal WILL get hurt, which will require an additional crew. In both the basic and advanced RIT classes I took at the CT Academy, each evolution required MULTIPLE crews to complete. In a career department, at least in theory, all crews have an equal chance of being assigned as the FAST/RIT. In a volunteer department, manpower is so much of a variable that there is no promise of your special team getting to the scene at all, let alone together and at the same time. The very concept of saying we have 50 guys on scene but only 6 of them are RIT qualified goes against the very principle of saving ones own.
Most if not all of the skills normally associated with FAST/RIT are built upon the basics of firefighting. Search and rescue skills are part of FF1, as are ropes & knots. They are a simple but obvious progression of FF1 anyway, and really do not add that much time onto a class. The basics can be covered in 8-16 hours. That is two days or four nights. In the general scheme of training, that is not a long time at all. As for ongoing training, there are two ways to maintain proficiency, first is to add some FAST/RIT drills into the schedule in frequent enough rotation. The second is to include FAST/RIT evolutions into existing drills. Both methods can be used in concert with each other, also.
I agree with basic EMS training but for a different reason. One aspect of EMS training is patient lifting and moving. While I am not suggesting that the same time is taken with patient packaging inside a fire environment that is taken at other times, knowing his information from the EMS perspective and not just from the lifting and carrying chapter of FF1 can be helpful. Anything we can do to minimize the injuries to the Firefighter being rescued is a good thing. As for the CPR aspect, I would hope that in that scenario, the patient is being handed off to someone else, either an EMS crew or another fire crew. Remember that in basic CPR training, we can stop performing under physical exhaustion. I would bet that after being the FAST/RIT one is physically exhausted or at least closer to being there than they otherwise would have been. As long as manpower allows for it, handing off to a fresh crew, is all part of providing the best care possible.
Seniority can be a mixed factor. While experience is beneficial, so is training. Very often (although not always), the newer younger members are the ones who seek out and attend formal training, while senior members are the one who have seen and done more. I am of the opinion that neither is better or worse. Look at all the recent health and wellness initiatives that have come up in the fire service. Someone starting off in the fire service will see this as the norm, while those who have been in the service for a while will see this as an innovation and possibly a hurdle to be overcome. I know members of departments that don't see the value of FAST/RIT and think of it as some new fad. Those members would make a poor FAST/RIT to some but also probably have performed more searches and/or rescues than the so called FAST/RIT specialists.