Rapid Intervention Crew The Difference Between Life And Death For Sacramento Firefighters

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — When the cries of help came out from firefighters trapped in the basement of a home while they were fighting a fire, the Rapid Intervention Crew stepped in to help.

"Essentially they are the firefighter of the firefighter," said Sacramento Fire spokesman Roberto Padilla.

The team is made up of four firefighters with one objective: saving their own.

"We have one job focus and everybody in unison has to focus on rescuing those firefighters being trapped," said Padilla.

Such was the case of rescuing the firefighters trapped in the home on Monday.

The team isn't a specialized unit, but any four designated firefighters on the street can be assigned at a moment's notice.

"It's not necessarily that they have special training. All of us have that kind of training," Padilla said. "When you hear that you go into RIC mode and it means get your tools ready and the things necessary in the event that this happens."

Being trapped is a nightmare for crews across the country. According to the National Fire Protection Association, 97 American firefighters lost their lives in 2013, and 8 percent of those came from a building collapsing on them.

"The outcome could have been worse," Padilla said. "The mayday went out fairly quickly after the fire attack and we went into full rescue mode thereafter and we were successful in getting our firefighters out."