R.I.T.

                                                            R.I.T. 

A Rapid Intervention Team is composed of firefighters who may be called upon to

quickly rescue, or otherwise intervene and return to safety, trapped or injured firefighters

operating at the scene of an emergency. The R.I.T. establishes a means of quickly and

effectively assisting members suddenly threatened by a dangerous situation at an

incident.  The R.I.T. provides a means for the Incident Commander to initiate an immediate

rescue effort. The RIT team may be relatively new for the fire service but it, I believe, was

started thousands of years ago. I believe that I have found a written transcript that provides

evidence that  the Creator of everything, also thought of RIT. 

 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king." He answered and said, "But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods." Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb,and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.Daniel 3:1-30

The same God that delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Adednego from the fiery furnace

without even a singed hair is standing at your door waiting. I have read the account

several times, and nowhere does it say that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego called for

help while in the furnace. Their faith and trust in God came before their fiery ordeal. It is

obvious by their reply to King Nebuchadnezzar that they had a personal relationship with

God.  “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so,

our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will

deliver us out of our hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will

not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." 

As a firefighter, I know that the RIT’s sole purpose is to quickly rescue, or otherwise

intervene and return to safety, trapped or injured firefighters operating at the scene of an

emergency.

The firefighters on RIT will only be activated in the event that a firefighter calls for help.

So many of us only call on God when we are in trouble. I don’t know about your

department, but I know the guys on RIT that are waiting at the door for me. I know and

trust that if I call “Mayday” they will do everything to find me. I know this because I have a

relationship with them. We talk, we train and we are committed to one another. The first

time you talk to a guy shouldn’t be when he or she is dragging you out of a building!

God sent His only Son to rescue Shadrach, Meshach, and Adednego from the fire. Jesus

is standing at the door waiting…when you are trapped in the fires of sin and the weight

of the world in keeping you from escaping, call for Him. I pray that you will have the

same confidence in His abilities as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did!

Humbly Serving His Will,

Danny Legge