City of Medford Oregon / Fire-Rescue / Training / Firefighter Safety and Survival

Firefighter Safety and Survival

Medford Fire Department monitors death and injury reports across the country.  The Firefighters attempt to understand what went wrong during those devastating incidents then work at procedures and training to prevent them from happening here in Medford.

Medford Firefighters also place themselves in similar situations during training to learn how to protect ourselves should the unthinkable occur.  Some of the stories related to Line of Duty Death (LODD) and their performance objectives are included in this site.

Medford Fire has adopted the goal of assigning one engine company at all working fires to a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) position.  This crew is specifically assigned to rescue any Firefighter who becomes lost or trapped inside the building.  One of the tools they carry is a RIT Bag.  This bag is specially designed to provide a supplemental air supply to any Firefighter who is trapped.  This provides more time to properly extract the Firefighter from the hostile environment.  This bag was developed by Medford Firefighters and has been adopted by all Jackson and Josephine County Fire Departments.