There are many ways to position yourself on a peaked roof in order to open it up–some certainly better and safer than others. The method you choose should be based on several factors: the pitch of the roof, the roofing materials, your access to the roof via ground ladders or aerial device, and the type of aerial device you’re using.
The roof’s pitch will help determine whether your roof team will be able to traverse the surface without the aid of roof ladders. Normally, any roof with a 4/12 pitch or less is considered walkable; you can use ground ladders to access the roof, check it for stability, and head to the highest point over the fire to make a hole without using a roof ladder.
To be on the safe side, I try to walk on areas of greatest structural strength, such as above walls, along the lines of the eaves and the rake edges and the hip sections of those types of roofs, as well as in the valleys of intersecting roofs. These areas are supported by the structural building components under them, so I don’t have to rely solely on the roof’s sheathing to hold my weight.
If you determine that the roof is not safe to physically get on–roof ladder or no roof ladder–working off an aerial device is a safe alternative. If things look like they’re getting bad, you can get yourself out of harm’s way hydraulically.
From the Aerial
For my first 7 years on a truck, we had a straight-stick, standard aerial with an attached waterway. Aerial ladders certainly come in handy for reaching your airborne target; however, they limit us a bit when we need to work off them. The tip of the aerial is designed so only one person can work comfortably. Although this is often enough for many of the jobs we need to do from the aerial, for some tasks, like ventilation, we may need a little more room so more people can work.
With this in mind, my crew and I began trying to determine how to best position the aerial ladder over a peaked roof so we truckies can work off the side of the aerial without setting foot on the roof’s surface. We experimented with different turntable placement while spotting our rig. Getting it exact was difficult, and it took a lot of trial and error, as many factors determine what makes a good spot: the building’s height, the location on the roof you want to open and, most importantly, the pitch of the roof.
If you have an attached waterway, you must be very careful not to hit the roof (or another object) as you move in toward your target. The good news is that, with the exception of having the aerial ladder at a 90-degree angle to the roof of the fire building, you can avoid hitting the roof with the waterway. This is because at any angle other than a right angle, one side of the aerial ladder will be closer to the roof than the other, leaving a space under one side of your aerial ladder for the ladder pipe.
Once in position, you can easily work off one side of the aerial. You can open the roof without ever having to step onto a potentially unstable surface. If conditions deteriorate, the aerial can be raised and/or swung aside and away from danger. Note: The aerial should not be retracted or extended with anyone on it, other than in areas designated by the manufacturer.
From the Platform
A couple years ago, my company was assigned a ladder truck with a platform–a huge change. A platform gives you a home base from which to work, and you don’t have to work alone at the tip anymore. Load whatever tools you think you’ll need into the bucket and then head upward in hydraulic bliss to do your job.
If you don’t want to set foot on the roof, you can work from the bucket. The method for doing this will depend on the shape of your platform and the location of the gates. Either way, position the bucket as close as possible to the surface of the roof, slightly below the area where you’ll start the hole.
If your platform is rectangular, you’ll need to position it somewhat straight on toward the roof. If your platform has angled corners, you’ll need to approach the roof as close to that angle as possible in order to get close to the roof. The fit doesn’t have to be like crown molding–just close enough to do the job.
The idea here is to move in close to the structure via the safety of the bucket, make your cut in the roof, poke it through and then get out of the way. Sometimes enormous amounts of heat will violently chug from the hole, and you don’t want to be in its path. After making your hole and retreating, you can monitor the conditions from a distance. If the hole needs to be enlarged, and it’s safe to do so, you can swoop in for another hit.
Here’s the play by play: The bucket operator moves in as close as possible. A crewmember tethered to the bucket and carrying a chainsaw opens the gate and reaches outward and upward to start making some cuts. A horizontal cut along the top would be nice if the operator can reach it safely. This cut, however, is not absolutely necessary because no matter what materials are covering the roof, they will end at the ridge, giving us a built-in upper seam in the roof.
Another crewmember makes vertical cuts from the roof ridge down the area where the floor of the bucket is close to the roof surface. Several vertical cuts can be made within a comfortable reach for the saw operator. The last cut should be a horizontal cut along the bottom of the area being opened and slightly above the floor of the bucket.
The firefighter with the saw finishes the cuts as the bucket operator gets into position with a long hook and prepares to remove the roofing materials. Usually a couple rapid jabs toward the vertical edge of the opening will cause the materials to flap like a teeter-totter with a roof rafter as a fulcrum point. If this doesn’t happen, keep hitting the material with the end of the hook until the material comes free. It may come apart in pieces or in one chunk–doesn’t matter to us as long as we open the roof.
The next step: Push down any ceiling below to finish the hole and allow the products of combustion to escape. Smoke and heat should start to escape, so back away and admire your work from a distance. The bucket operator can raise and retract the aerial back to a safe distance and monitor the progress of both the fire and the vent hole. You may notice several changes in the appearance of the heat and smoke coming from the hole. Not only is this interesting to watch, but it’s also a good indicator of the fire conditions inside and it can provide some guidance in determining if the vent hole is large enough.
Final Thoughts
These are just a couple ways to open a peaked roof without actually getting on it. My crew trained on these tactics repeatedly before executing them at actual fires–the proper order for trying something new. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record–or for the younger readers, a corrupt MP3 file–but you must train on this stuff before you can expect to do it correctly and safely at a fire.
