Proudly Serving the Town Of Tonawanda Since 1930

Firefighter Assist and Search Team

– Also referred to as Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) or Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC)

The Firefighter Assist and Search Team (F.A.S.T.) was developed in the late 1990’s to support the OSHA two-in/two-out rule. The F.A.S.T. is a team of trained firefighters that are available to an Incident Commander for an incident outside of Brighton’s primary coverage area. They will be assigned to any/all confirmed structure fires, special operations, or at any other time at the discretion of the Incident Commander. The teams’ sole responsibility is to attempt to rescue firefighters in the event of a potentially life threatening situation. These situations may include, but are not limited to, trapped or disoriented firefighters, structural collapse involving firefighters, or any incident that would require immediate assistance due to life threatening situations.

The F.A.S.T. utilizes Brighton Ladder 1 as the response apparatus to both residential and commercial incidents. The team consists of six (6) firefighters and a chief officer who will operate as F.A.S.T. Command at the Incident Command post. Team members receive specialized training in firefighter rescue operations by way of Department training and that of outside agencies.