Ep 77: The Job Of RTF 1
Episode 77
Published Apr 22, 2024
Last updated Feb 18, 2026
Duration: 33:12
Episode Summary
RTFs save lives – that’s their mission. Today we look at the responsibilities of RTF1 and the key differences the first unit on the scene faces.
Episode Notes
In an active shooter incident, a Rescue Task Force is a medical mission with a security component.
RTF1, the first through the door, bears additional responsibilities. In today’s episode Tom Billington, Bill Godfrey, Kami Maertz, and Ron Otterbacher shine a light on both the fire and law enforcement duties of RTF1 and how they manage a casualty collection point, ambulance exchange point, and more.
View this episode on YouTube at https://youtu.be/gauOfvXVua0
Transcript
Bill Godfrey:In the Active Shooter Incident Management process, we talk about the importance of rescue task forces. And that's great, but what actually is the job of Rescue Task Force One? What are the duties of the first rescue task force through the door? And are they different? Coming up today, stick around.
Welcome to the Active Shooter Incident Management Podcast. My name is Bill Godfrey, your podcast host. I am joined today by Ron Otterbacherer from our law enforcement side. Ron, good to have you.
Ron Otterbacher:
Glad to be here, thank you.
Bill Godfrey:
Been seeing more of you lately. I'm glad the time is working out good. Across the table from us, Kami Maertz from our law enforcement side. Kami-
Kami Maertz:
Hello.
Bill Godfrey:
Good to have you with us.
Kami Maertz:
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Bill Godfrey:
And my dear friend Tom Billington back in the house. Tommy, how are you?
Tom Billington:
Good, glad to be here.
Bill Godfrey:
Alright, so Tom and I from the Fire and EMS side.
So today's topic, we're gonna talk about the duties of Rescue Task Force One. And in reality, there are some things that are very different about responsibilities and roles for RTF1 that don't necessarily fall on the other RTFs.
And so I'd like to break this into two pieces. I think to start with, let's start with the perfect scenario where the contact teams have organized a casualty collection point. They've got it secured, and the RTF is gonna come through the door and what they need to do. And then before we wrap up, I wanna come back and talk about how does that RTF manage when they come into the site and there isn't a casualty collection point, there may not be a particularly good security posture, what that looks like and what needs to happen.
So let's start with the security side of this. Kami, if you would lead us off here. When you're escorting that first rescue task force into the casualty collection point that's been called out to you, so you know a location that you're going to, you're on the radio with tactical and with the other contact teams, what are the things that you and Ron would be looking for and concerned about as you're moving the RTF to the casualty collection point? And what's that process for entering the room?
Kami Maertz:
The main things, obviously, we're gonna look for is any threats. So that's gonna be our main job is that we're just escorting our fire rescue personnel to the scene safely. That is our entire job is to be looking and listening for any threats that might break off, that may call us to retract back to an area location or find a safe location. So we're also, at the same time, gonna be looking for areas that we might have to duck into or get them to a point of safety with good cover and stuff like that in case the scene does go active. Once we make entry, the first things I'm gonna be looking for is to make sure that we do have a security element in that room and that that has been established.
So those are things that we're looking for. As a rescue task force, it's my job is just to protect the fire rescue personnel, so I'm looking for safety risk. And if that does come up, how am I going to protect my people with me?
Bill Godfrey:
Ron, what about you? What's important, in your mind, maybe even before you leave staging with your RTF, what are the things that are important in your mind that Kami didn't already mention that you wanna talk about?
Ron Otterbacher:
And I think she did a great job, but it starts back at the staging area where we set the parameters. "This is how we're gonna operate. If we tell you to do this, this is what you're gonna do because it's for your safety." We're not gonna tell them what equipment to bring, but we're gonna say, "Look, we're gonna travel kind of light. We're not gonna bring seven stretchers and everything else. We gotta be able to move, and this is where we're heading. They're saying that we should be safe, have safe access into that area. However, things could change, dynamics may change. And if they change and we tell you to do something, you gotta do it immediately."
And our job is strictly, like she said, our job is protective detail for the RTF. And no matter what, we're not gonna leave our protective responsibility. And we've gotta, if they're not confident, we're gonna protect them. They're not gonna be in the game.
Kami Maertz:
And I think that communication aspect is very important. To let them know too, if you see something, tell us, right? If we miss something that you know each other and you're talking to each other and saying like, "Hey, I'm Kami, you're Bill. Hey, if you see something, Bill, let me know" so that you're already building that relationship and letting them know that you're open to receiving that too.
Bill Godfrey:
Perfect, so Tom, it's you and me on the RTF with Kami and Ron. They safely get us into the casualty collection point. We walk through the threshold, they tell us we're good to go to work. What's on your mind, the first couple of things right off the bat?
Tom Billington:
Well, first thing on my mind is hopefully, I already know ahead of time how many casualties I have or how many survivors I have, what priority they are as far as law enforcement. Are they red or are they green? So I know, am I having more resources coming or more RTFs coming? I need to know that. And when I walk in the room, my first job obviously is to take charge of that room and make sure that I know where the casualties are. I start my triage process, so I can start the whole treatment part.
Bill Godfrey:
Yeah, and I think for me, it's very, very similar. I think one of the first things I wanna do is, assuming there's a contact team that was already in the room and we would hope have already done the geographic sort, and just for those that haven't heard us talk about that on earlier podcasts, so one of the things that we hope that contact teams can do, if they have the time and the resources, is to sort the room. Uninjured go up against this wall, the injured that are walking go up against this wall, which then leaves the injured that cannot walk laying in the middle of the floor. Your walking wounded or your greens, everybody in the middle of the floor is a red, and you're uninjured over here are out of the way.
And so as we come into the room, I'm gonna wanna try to establish contact with one of those contact team members that's already been in the room and say, "Okay, hey, what do you got? What do you know?" I mean, if they've geographic sorted the room, it is a lot easier. As you said, we've already got some ideas of the numbers and we can look, but if they haven't, what do they already know? And the answer may be, "Well, we've got one that's been shot in the head, and we've got two that are shot in the chest." That's all great information.
Then after that, Tom, I mean, I'm thinking, because our job, we're working for triage. And we have got to figure out, we've gotta re-triage everybody. We've gotta reassess everybody, and then get that information back to the triage group supervisor. What does that look like for you when it's just the two of us to start with?
Tom Billington:
Well, first of all, anything we can do quickly to save life, we need to do. If we have an arterial bleed or something, but the main thing is getting the other RTFs in to help us. So we're organizing the room, we're making sure triage knows the numbers we have, and then we start organizing how we're gonna care for who first, who second, et cetera. But we cannot do much with just one RTF. We're gonna be very busy sorting things out. So we need more RTFs in there to help us as soon as possible.
Bill Godfrey:
Yeah, and I think it's in that report to the triage group supervisor about what we've got, I think it's good to give the initial report. So if we do have the luxury of coming into a room that's already been geographically sorted, to say we've got three greens and four reds in this location, we'll follow up with you a minute when we re-triage. And then four or five minutes later, and this is where that inevitable counting in colors always goes horribly wrong is because now you and I have had a chance to go through and quickly assess everybody, and we've got two black tags, one red you, one yellow and two greens left, or whatever the numbers are, 'cause as Jill says, "Never do math in public." And I think my numbers just didn't add up right there. But it kind of illustrates the point when we now call back to triage and say, "Here's our updated numbers," how many times have you guys seen that go wrong in training? And I know both of you have worked the tactical position where you're working with tactical triage and transport, and the numbers come up and they don't match the numbers from the radio report five minutes ago. What does that look like? What does that cause? How often do you see that be a problem?
Kami Maertz:
I think the biggest thing that it causes is they add 'em together, is instead of clarifying that that is what you have, is that they add in the previous numbers they have with this numbers and it causes a lot of confusion. Instead of going with our rescue task forces know what they're doing and they're in control of this, these are the numbers that we're going to use. So any previous estimations and we allow those to be estimations, and this is what numbers we're at.
Bill Godfrey:
Ron, how about you? How do you see 'em get wrapped around the axle on that?
Ron Otterbacher:
It tends to be, there's some confusion at tactical triage transport, but it's even worse once you get to command board and they're trying to account for everything else that's going on. And a lot of times, if they would just reach back to triage and transport, they could get more accurate numbers, but they don't. So they continue to run with the numbers they have, and it just adds to the confusion that's going on there.
It's a simple fix. If you just stop for a second, "Okay, let's reassess how many people do you have at casualty collection point? If you do that, then it takes care of it. But so few times will they stop it and say, "Hold on just a second. Let's get this straight." And that would help in all the resource management and everything else from that.
Tom Billington:
But being wrapped around the axles is a good point right there. We cannot get so hung up on colors and tags that we're not saving lives. Those numbers are gonna change. The colors are gonna change, unfortunately. Some good, some bad. So we have to make sure we're doing our primary job, first of all, is saving lives and making sure we have other resources coming in to assist us as soon as possible.
Bill Godfrey:
Perfect segue, Tom. So one of the things that you said a minute ago is I need to talk to triage and I need more RTFs down in here. What, in your mind, are there any good guidelines for the number of RTFs or the number of people that you need based on your patient counts and severities? I mean, I think I'm trying to go back. I think I said three or four greens or three or four reds or something like that. Let's just call it a mixed bag. You've got three or four walking wounded, three or four reds. What are the thoughts on your mind about the numbers of medical people you need to do that initial stabilizing, life-saving treatment for those numbers?
Tom Billington:
Well, best case scenario, I want one RTF for one red patient, if possible. Again, depends on your resources. Maybe one or two for every yellow. Excuse me, maybe one for every two yellows, something like that. But the more, the better. Remember, half the RTF forces law enforcement that their job is not to pitch in, it's to protect you. And so you have medical hands on. So we wanna get as many in there as soon as possible that know what they're doing as quickly as possible.
Bill Godfrey:
And I think that's a really interesting point. It does a little bit come down to the local agency, and if they have any policies or if the teams get adjusted sizes. You know one of the things that we often advocate and talk about is not to set a team size based on policy, but the first RTF through the door should be traveling. Ron, you mentioned this, we should be traveling light. We wanna go fast and light on the first RTF, which presumably would be two law enforcement and two fire-EMS. But that doesn't mean that if the situation is calming down, shall we say, that the next RTF, that RTF2 coming through the door couldn't have two law enforcement and five fire-EMS personnel.
Ron Otterbacher:
Absolutely.
Kami Maertz:
Absolutely.
Tom Billington:
That's very true.
Bill Godfrey:
How receptive would you guys be as our escorts if Tom and I say, "Hey, listen, you know the next RTF, can I have them beef that up to more people, or you think you think we're okay to increasing that team size?" What are the concerns from a security perspective of bringing in a larger team size without necessarily upscaling the number of law enforcement on it?
Kami Maertz:
I think it's obviously depend on the area that you're in, right? How easy is it to attract them? How easy is it to find cover? All of those kind of things are gonna be a big thing. And how big of a warm pocket have we built to how many we're willing to get down there? Because if you get too many, you don't wanna overload it. Now, it's safer if you can get 'em into the casualty collection point, even the location of your casualty collection point, how easy it is to get out and in to that location is gonna be a big depending factor. Obviously, the more resources we can get down there, the better within that casualty collection point. So that's gonna be one of those kind of weighing factors.
Bill Godfrey:
Now, you used the phrase "warm pocket." Can you explain that a little bit?
Kami Maertz:
So that's what we're doing is creating a warm pocket to be able to get our rescue task forces. So if the area is a hot zone, we're going through and establishing an area, getting containment and security element within a location that's creating almost a warm pocket. So it's not necessarily a warm zone, or it's definitely not a cold zone, it's just a warm pocket that we have security elements set up so we can get our rescue task forces downrange.
Bill Godfrey:
So the warm pocket may be larger than just the CCP that we happen to be in. You may have a hallway and adjacent rooms. Is that kind of what you mean?
Kami Maertz:
Absolutely, and so if we've created that large enough warm pocket that we're like this whole area is warm, we can consider this warm, that's gonna make our ingress and egress of fire rescue personnel much easier for us and a much safer environment for everybody.
Bill Godfrey:
So Ron, here's a specific question for you. So unlike the rest of us who lived in one discipline or the other, you actually did both. You started out your career as a paramedic working in fire-EMS and then jumped over to the law enforcement side. From that experience base of what you're doing, if the four of us are in the CCP, and Tom and I are having a conversation about needing more medical peeps coming into the room, what are the things that makes sense to you to weigh that out in terms of the balancing the security risk versus the need for the medical care?
Ron Otterbacher:
Well, by nature, you've got the warm pocket set up. So you've got a security component there, plus you got the security component for the RTF initially. Then you've got another RTF. If you look at resource management, do I need, say we use two officers and two EMS folks and we have five of the RTFs downrange, do I need that many security components, or can I use them to our advantage somewhere else?
I can transport these people downrange and keep them safe. We've got a way to get to the casualty collection point. We got a component there. Do I need all the extra security folks for that at that time? And that's something you gotta weigh out. And that's actually something I was thinking about while we were sitting here is we tend to push the four-person component. And sometimes, if I know I've got 15 people injured downrange, I might rather take eight fire-EMS folks in the second RTF good with still a security component, but it may not be as large, but get them downrange so they can work on patients. Again, we're holding that, we're providing security for it, which is what we're doing. But I may need the extra security component to firm up our ambulance exchange point. But if I got everyone downrange and they can't leave their responsibility, then am I robbing Peter to pay Paul?
Bill Godfrey:
Makes sense, so perfect segue there. So Tom, one of the things we've learned through the training repetitions and real life experience is you get into the CCP, you do your triage, you call back the numbers, you start laying hands on to do your medical care, stabilizing, and then we're ready to transport and whoops, we forgot to get the ambulance exchange point stood up.
So one of the things that we tell RTF1 is do yourself a favor. So we've come into the room, we've triaged, we've reported our initial numbers. We've taken care of any right now, right now medical issues, and we're getting ready to go to work. And before we do that, but first, we turn to our law enforcement detail and go, "Okay, there's an exit door right over there. Can we get ambulances back there? Can we use that as an ambulance exchange point?" And we ask the two of you to start figuring that out, working on that with tactical, while you and I turn our attention to medical care. How big a deal is that?
Tom Billington:
That is a big deal actually. As you know, we track all of our times during these scenarios when we train. And that is the biggest time consumer, one of them anyway, where, "Hey, we're treating people. Wait a minute, there's no ambulances here yet." That has to happen soon. So that first RTF, that's one of the responsibilities when they come in, they should say, "All right. Kami or Ron, hey, I saw this exit here. Can you all work with tactical, get security out there for us?" That way, there's no delay, because again, that's where you can cut time on that clock.
Ron Otterbacher:
And the other thing I look at in those scenarios is so often having, I'm at the command post quite a bit. I'm tactical quite a bit. And you've got everyone in those positions trying to determine where the ambulance exchange point is.
The only people, and I talk about it, whether you're a contact team, whether you're RTF, everyone else is guessing. The only people that know what the heck's going on are the people downrange. I say paint a picture. So the ones that should be saying where the ambulance exchange point should be, should be the RTF or the contact teams or however that communication comes from down range back, as opposed to, "Okay, I'm sitting here at command post. This looks like a good place over here." Not understanding that you're gonna have to carry these people 350 yards to get to an ambulance.
Tom Billington:
And there's an escalator to the other corner and a freight elevator.
Kami Maertz:
Yes.
Ron Otterbacher:
It needs to come to y'all.
Tom Billington:
Right.
Ron Otterbacher:
And y'all need to make that determination. And they need to be smart enough to understand that they can't make that determination from their location.
Kami Maertz:
And I think with that too is it's important, when you're talking about that for contact teams, say if they said, "I think this is a good place for an ambulance exchange point," and the RTF turns around and says "no", don't be offended. Know that that's what they do. They drive ambulances, right? We drive cars and things and trucks and stuff. They drive ambulances, they know the capabilities, they know the easiest routes. So if they tell you it's gonna be better location, say, "Okay, you got it. We can make it there." And make it there. Unless there's a tactical reason that you can't, but that's when you have that discussion of say which one's better, but listen to other people and have that quick communication.
Ron Otterbacher:
And then it becomes a responsibility of transport.
Kami Maertz:
Yes.
Ron Otterbacher:
Along with tactical and triage to figure out, "Okay, this is where they want. How do I get 'em in there?"
Kami Maertz:
Absolutely.
Ron Otterbacher:
And do I have security for it?
Bill Godfrey:
And the two biggest issues that people underestimate about ambulances is number one, they cannot go off road. And when I say off road, I don't mean in lose dirt. I mean, you can't drive 'em in grass. They will get stuck. They just absolutely will get stuck. And they're trucks. They do not turn with a tight radius at all. And backing them, especially when you're in a crowded environment with a lot of people moving around is a risky operation.
So having to pull in and then back to a three point turn to get out is gonna be time consuming and risky as opposed to coming up with some sort of arrangement where you can pull in and pull right out.
So Tom, we're in the casualty collection point, we've done our report up, Kami and Ron are working on our ambulance exchange point, you and I have more patients than we can deal with. So we've talked about having our next RTF. So we would call back to triage and say, "We need two more RTFs and I need like five people per RTF. I need those to be larger teams." What are your thoughts about also saying if we need specific equipment that we didn't bring, if we do have to move them, in your mind, is there a time that it's okay for RTFs to bring backboards or maybe even bring some stretchers in?
Tom Billington:
Heck, yeah. And so like what you mentioned, I hope it happens sooner. Hopefully, that second RTF at least is on the way before I have to call for them. But once we are there, again RTF1, what is your job? Sort the room, do triage. Now, wait a minute, I need some specialty equipment to get these people moved. I have somebody that's obese, so I have no way to move this person over here. I have the special needs situation here. That's all RTF1, because as the second and third RTFs come in, their job is gonna be primarily doing that medical care and you're kind of running the incident, the internal incident itself as the RTF1.
Bill Godfrey:
So for illustration purposes, we've got the second RTF is showing up at the door, and you're in charge of the casualty collection point. What are the things that you are going to want to tell RTF2 to do? What do you want from RTF2? What should be their expectations, and what are the instructions you're gonna give them?
Tom Billington:
I'm gonna give them their patients by the highest priority of what what I want them to do. I'm gonna give them information as to what we have. Information's important. I'm also gonna tell 'em, "Here's what I'm doing with the ambulance exchange point. Go to work."
Next RTF coming in, I'm gonna take that load off of them also. But I wanna keep them working. I'll take the load of running the room and running the situation. Let 'em do their job, treating that patient, that's the main thing.
Bill Godfrey:
So we're working the treatment, it's going underway. Sooner or later, we're gonna be ready for ambulances. We get 'em up to the ambulance exchange point. Depending on the proximity, there may be a task in moving people to the ambulances. What are the thoughts about the security posture for doing that movement and having, maybe it's RTF4 that comes through the door. You guys are responsible for getting the patients loaded, right? This one and this one are ready to go.
But what does that look like from a security posture? Let's assume we don't have the luxury of opening the door and the ambulance back doors are right there. We're gonna have to move 'em at least 50 feet, 100 feet, somewhat exposed in a parking area. What are the things that are going through your minds if you're the security detail for that RTF that's having to move patients?
Ron Otterbacher:
We may have to protect the corridor. Again, the AEP should have its own security component. So the only thing we should be responsible for is getting it safely from here to the AEP. And it may mean that we're not taking the entire security component, and they're not leaving the RTFs, they're just branching out just a little bit to make sure we've got security as they move from point A to point B.
Kami Maertz:
Yeah, and and the other thing is utilizing your resources. It's having somebody who's gonna take a leadership role down there that's looking around and saying, we have say four RTFs. So we have four officer component on that RTF, we have casualty collection point, we have security element in there, we have the ambulance exchange point, we have a security element on that. So to switch around and move around those resources and say we're gonna create that corridor of safety from here to there so that we're using those resources more effectively to be able to get those patients in and out quickly.
Bill Godfrey:
Whatever is the most expeditious way to get the job done-
Kami Maertz:
That's what matters.
Ron Otterbacher:
Without compromising security.
Kami Maertz:
Yep.
Bill Godfrey:
So Tom, this is all unfolding. We have several RTFs in there with us. Ambulance exchange point is set. We've got a team that's beginning to move people. What are the things that we have left to communicate to triage, if anything? What do we need to talk about?
Tom Billington:
This is where triage definitely needs to have some colors now and numbers, because the colors have changed, the severity have changed, they need some more accurate numbers, 'cause they're sitting right next to the transportation officer, and that's where the transportation officer has to start doing their job. What hospitals do I have available? What priorities can the hospital take? So getting that correct information updated to triage from the RTF1 is very important.
Bill Godfrey:
And I would also say, I think that it's important to watch your wording in that radio call to the triage group supervisors to say, "This is what I have left."
Tom Billington:
Good point.
Bill Godfrey:
So that there's not that issue that you said, where they're doubling up, they're adding. Well, wait a minute. You only had one yellow, now you're telling me you have three yellows. Well, that's 'cause a couple of my greens decompensated.
Kami Maertz:
Exactly.
Bill Godfrey:
And so to be very clear when you're calling, and by the way, the flip side of that I think is fair game too. If you're the triage group supervisor and you're not getting an update from your RTF, to call 'em and say, "What do you have left? What is there left with you?" Tom, how often do you think that that's a critical element that introduces confusion and chaos?
Tom Billington:
It happens a lot. And again, I said early on that the colors may change. Don't get wrapped up in them, but towards that point, we need accurate numbers, we need accurate colors, because that can really put a cog in the wheel as for who goes to what hospital. Does somebody get the correct care or not? So it gets very important towards the loading point.
Bill Godfrey:
And then we just keep working the process until we've got the CCP emptied. At which point, we obviously need to call back, let triage know that we have no viable patients left at that location. Find out if there's another task, another assignment. Is there, from a security perspective, as we empty that CCP, are there still issues for law enforcement remaining in that CCP where we just treated all these people that were shot?
Kami Maertz:
Well, you're likely gonna have, you likely might have your black tags, right? So you might have your deceased, and so that becomes its own security element that you're gonna be married to for the remainder of that, for the investigation side of it. You're also gonna have some uninjured. And so where are they gonna go? Who's gonna stay with them? You've now created this area with them in there. So all of that stuff would have to be considered.
Ron Otterbacher:
And if you return your RTFs back to the staging area, they don't go back just on their own. They go back with security component they came with. So you may have to adjust and you may determine, yeah, tactical triage and transport may determine, "Wait, I'm gonna keep two RTFs down range. We're relatively safe right where we're at. We got protection, we got security in place, in case something kicks off beyond there, 'cause now I don't have to go back and make up all the distance I already covered." So those are all tactical decisions you have to make.
But again, none of those decisions should be made at the RTF level. It should be made triage, transport after they've talked to command, 'cause command may have other ideas they wanna use with those, and that's where bringing everyone together and talking to each other is critical in those situations.
Tom Billington:
And also remember, and you brought it up right there, an RTF is a medical mission. If the medical mission is over, we may want an RTF to stay there. But if command needs law enforcement officers for something else, they need to get those rescue folks back to staging.
Ron Otterbacher:
Right. With their security component.
Tom Billington:
Exactly.
Bill Godfrey:
Which is an interesting point that you just mentioned on. Kami, I was thinking of this one, you mentioned it. If we've got four RTFs, we've got four sets of RTF security, which might be a bit excessive for a casualty collection point. In fact, it might be too many people in a confined space.
Tom, I don't know if you remember this, but years ago, when we were doing some of that full scale training where we were actually doing ambulance exchange points and doing the ambulance loading, things like that, we had some training classes where we were short on cops.
Ron Otterbacher:
Mm-hmm.
Bill Godfrey:
We didn't have enough cops to outfit for our RTFs. And one of the things that we worked around it is we got one RTF inside, so you got the contact team that's securing the casualty collection point. You got one RTF of security in there with a small team. And then when the first ambulance came up, we used it kind of as a Trojan horse. We put five, six, seven, eight medical people inside the back of the ambulance, so that when the ambulance came up into the secured ambulance exchange point and we brought out that first patient, we were able to hand them the patient and then beef up our team.
How do you feel about that from a security perspective to know that your RTF suddenly just went from two to eight? Does that cause any challenges for you?
Kami Maertz:
I think as long as it's part of the immediate action plan, right? Everyone knows that's what's going to happen, and everyone's assigned to the plan and knows what their role is. The only thing you don't wanna happen is everybody to run away from the RTFs and leave a bunch of rescue personnel without any protection. So as long as somebody knows that you're bringing them down there, this is their role, your job is to get 'em from here to here safely, and then these people are taking over their security. So these are gonna be established as a security over the RTFs, and everybody's aware of the plan and everybody's okay with the plan. I think that's the biggest thing.
Bill Godfrey:
I like that.
Ron Otterbacher:
And you weigh out your security problems that you're dealing with at the time.
Bill Godfrey:
Like how much risk?
Ron Otterbacher:
Yeah. It's a risk-reward type thing. And if I feel relatively safe, I can get them down there. And again, relatively safe is-
Bill Godfrey:
Relative.
Ron Otterbacher:
Not 100%. But if I feel I can get them down there safe and get them into their mission, I'm good with that. But I've gotta have that confidence that not only do I have security on the AEP, but also moving them from the AEP to the casualty collection point. If I'm not confident I've got that security, I may throw in an extra officer or two into that Trojan horse and say, "Okay, I think with this, we got people with them while they're moving. We got people at the ambulance exchange point. We got people at the casualty collection point. We feel we've got it covered well." So those are determination we make.
Bill Godfrey:
I like that. Tom, anything that we missed that we didn't cover in the process for RTF1 specifically, those extra duties, which, why don't you highlight the key differences for the first RTF?
Tom Billington:
Well, the key difference is obviously, in fire rescue and EMS, we're very emphatic about first unit on scene takes command. So you're not taking command but you're in charge. So remember to have that one person in charge to take account of your casualties, what severity are there, how many are there? And get your resources in there, organize your resources, get them treated accordingly, get 'em into the ambulances accordingly. And your first RTF should be the first one and probably the last one out, kind of running the whole scene.
Bill Godfrey:
And make sure that you coordinate with your security detail that ambulance exchange point. I think that's-
Tom Billington:
Oh, very important.
Bill Godfrey:
I think you nailed everything there. Last thoughts for the two of you. That first RTF, you're the security taking the first group of unarmed people in. As you said, it's relatively secure. What does that mean? Well, it's all relative. What are the big things that are on your mind that other officers who might have that duty should be thinking about?
Kami Maertz:
I think the biggest thing is that it is a medical component or medical job with a security detail associated with it. So you're allowing them to control what their needs are. All you're doing is keeping 'em safe. They're controlling what needs, they're gonna tell you, "This is what I need to save people's lives." And you're controlling the safety. And so you let them take the lead on that. As long as it's not a safety risk, you're letting them take the lead on the needs.
Ron Otterbacher:
I think the other thing is projecting. You know that you're gonna send RTFs downrange. So you gotta have law enforcement component with the RTFs. You know eventually, you're gonna have an ambulance exchange points. So if you're law enforcement leadership, you've gotta plan on that. It doesn't do any good for Tommy as RTF1 to call back and say, "Hey, I'm ready for the ambulance exchange points. Now, you're saying, "Oh, I gotta get some cops for you." I should already had them. If they weren't deployed, they better be right on the starting line. As soon as I say go, they better be there within 30 seconds.
And so those are all things we can do ahead of time. Just like when I'm in command and medical branch shows up first, I always tell them, "Go ahead. You know you're gonna need RTFs. Go ahead and start standing them up at staging and have 'em stay there until you give words to deploy them." If we don't, then all of a sudden, "Hey, we need RTFs." "Well, you heard 20 minutes ago we need RTFs. Got people shot everywhere." So start planning those things ahead of time. Get 'em ready to deploy. We're not saying let's stage and deploy them. We're saying have them ready so when we give the whistle, they're gone.
Bill Godfrey:
I think that's a great place to wrap it up. Thank you all for talking about this topic. This was an important one. Several weeks ago, we were talking about some of the specific duties of the contact teams that go in. And so I thought that this was a great follow on for that on the medical side for the things that are a little bit different for the first rescue task force.
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