“YOU’VE GOT THE ROOF”

BY LANCE C. PEEPLES

Truck company functions that must be completed during the critical first few minutes—simultaneously with the stretching of the first line—include forcible entry, vent-enter-search (VES), and vertical ventilation. Failing to perform any one of these functions in a timely manner may prevent the first line from advancing and any trapped occupants from being rescued. To make sure that these three key areas are covered, the smart company officer will preassign these roles at the beginning of the tour.

(1) You may have to use a six-foot hook to pull down the fire escape drop ladder or the counterweighted stair. (Photos by author unless otherwise noted.)

This article addresses what it takes to successfully complete your job when the officer says, “You’ve got the roof.” (Note: The information presented here is based on a two ladder company response, at least four or five firefighters per ladder company.)

Typically, the member assigned to the roof should be an experienced firefighter, since this position requires that the firefighter operate remotely from his officer and that he be capable of exercising independent judgment. While responding into the box, the roof firefighter has much to consider: Is the fire in a private house or a multiple dwelling? Is the building of wood frame, ordinary, or fire resistive construction? Are people reported trapped? How will I get to the roof? What tools will I carry? The answers to these questions will dictate the actions the firefighter takes when he arrives at the roof.

TENEMENTS
Tenement buildings are multiple dwellings that were constructed from before the turn of the 20th century until about 1930. Generally, they range from four to seven stories and are constructed of ordinary construction. The stairwells are often unenclosed, resulting in an extreme life hazard. These buildings are anywhere from 25 feet to 50 feet wide and 85 feet deep.

(2, 3) After opening the bulkhead door, chock it open and use the blunt end of your hook to probe for victims who may have collapsed before reaching the roof.

Your first priority on arriving at a fire in a tenement building is to get to the roof. The firefighter assigned to the roof position should carry a six-foot hook, a halligan tool, a handlight, a portable radio, and a lifesaving rope/harness. The preferred method for getting to the roof of these buildings is by the interior stairs of an adjacent building and crossing over the roof (unless the adjacent building is vacant, the building roofs are separated by a fence/razor wire, or the two buildings are of different heights). If your way is blocked by a chained bulkhead door, you will be forced to descend to a top-floor apartment, gain access, and then climb back up using the fire escape.

Your second choice for getting to the roof is to use the aerial ladder. If that is not available (it may be needed to effect a rescue), try to get to the roof by using the rear fire escape, if there is one. Let the next arriving ladder company know which route you used to get to the roof so that that company’s roof firefighter can use the same route. (If the first-due roof firefighter has not yet arrived at the roof, the second-due roof firefighter should proceed using a different route, to help ensure that at least one roof firefighter will arrive in a timely fashion.)

Once you arrive at the roof, your first priority should be to chock open the bulkhead door, even if victims are hanging out the top-floor windows. This single action may relieve fire conditions sufficiently to allow the forcible entry team to remove any victims from the interior. Then, use your hook to probe down the bulkhead stairs in an attempt to locate any victims who may have collapsed before escaping. If heavy smoke or fire vents from the stairwell, you may have to vent the skylight—first notify your officer by radio. Then, take out a small pane; this allows members ascending the stairs an opportunity to get out of the way. Also make sure you push out any draftstop at the ceiling level.

Next, survey the perimeter of the building for trapped victims, victims who may have jumped, the location and extent of the fire, the location of any shafts, and the height of the building at the rear. Communicate this information directly to the incident commander (IC). Be specific—for example, “I have fire blowing out two windows on the top floor” or “The rear of this building is actually six stories.” Remember, the IC can’t see what you can!

If you see victims hanging from windows, reassure them that help is on the way, notify the IC and your officer, and set up for a rope rescue pending the arrival of the second-due roof firefighter. If no victims are pres- ent at the windows and the fire is not a top-floor fire, the first- and second-due roof crew should descend by the rear fire escape and search the top-floor apartments after notifying the officer.

If the fire is on the top floor, vent any top-floor windows you can reach with a halligan tool attached to a utility rope. Also remove any additional scuttle covers, and open the scuttle wall into the cockloft to check for fire. Once the saw arrives, you can assist in cutting the roof as close to the fire as is safely possible.

ROW FRAMES
Row-frame buildings are multiple dwellings that range from 20 to 30 feet wide and 40 to 60 feet deep. Their balloon-frame construction, combustible exterior siding, and undivided cocklofts, which may stretch over an entire city block, allow for extremely rapid fire spread.

The roofman’s operations at row-frame buildings are similar to those at tenements. He carries the same tools; however, it is preferred that the aerial ladder be used to get to the roof because it may be necessary to force entry into the adjacent building. In addition, access is gained by using a short iron ladder to a scuttle hole in the roof. Frequently, the ladder is in a closet and blocked by storage. Also, the scuttle cover is frequently padlocked shut and is difficult to force. However, if the aerial is being used for rescues, you may have to overcome these obstacles by going at least three buildings upwind (because of rapid fire spread through the cockloft) and gaining access to the roof by way of the scuttle. The rear fire escape, if present, may or may not go to the roof. In these buildings, it is critical that you open the returns, the enclosing walls around the scuttle, to check for fire in the cockloft. Use your hook to attempt to push open the closet door to vent the top floor through the scuttle hole. Under no circumstances, however, should you attempt to descend the iron ladder to open the door. You could become trapped in the resultant chimney. If the fire is on the top floor, the first-due outside vent firefighter should bring the saw to the roof.

PRIVATE DWELLINGS
Private dwellings may range from small 20-foot 2 40-foot bungalows to palatial mansions. They are usually one or two stories tall and built of wood-frame or masonry and joist construction. They were built for one or two families and generally are detached from other structures.

At fires in private dwellings, take a six-foot hook, halligan tool, handlight, portable radio, and 14- to 24-foot portable ladder and VES the bedrooms. If an aerial ladder can reach the building, the outside vent firefighter should work with the driver to VES the front of the building. In this case, try to enter a bedroom window at the side or rear of the structure to conduct VES. Enter only after radioing your officer of your intentions, and notify him again when you leave the building.

Note: VES is a dangerous tactic. It should be used only by experienced firefighters when there is a high probability that someone may be trapped. It should not be used in conjunction with positive-pressure ventilation.

(9) The roof firefighter can use a halligan tied to a utility rope to vent the top-floor windows from the roof. (10) Some companies modify the halligan by welding a link of chain to the tool. This allows a utility rope with a snap hook to be rapidly attached to the halligan.

Some may suggest that the roof firefighter who operates by himself violates the “buddy system” and is, therefore, unsafe. However, the small dimensions of a private dwelling allow the roof firefighter to maintain direct verbal contact with the outside vent firefighter who is only a few feet away. In effect, the roof firefighter has two buddies—his officer and the outside vent firefighter. If the aerial cannot reach the fire building, the roof firefighter should work from the front of the building, where there is usually a porch, while the outside vent firefighter and driver work from the side or rear.

If it becomes necessary to open the roof at a private dwelling, the second-due roof firefighter and the outside vent firefighter are responsible for bringing the saw, ax, and hook to the roof.

FIRE RESISTIVE BUILDINGS
Fire resistive buildings can be divided into shorter (less than 75 feet) and high-rise buildings. If you are responding to a fire in a shorter building and the fire is within reach of the aerial ladder, try to get to the roof by way of an adjoining building, if one is available. If no adjacent building is present, use the aerial or an enclosed stair, remote from the fire, within the fire building. The tools you carry and the tasks you perform when you reach the roof will be the same as those for a tenement fire.

If the fire is in a shorter building where an aerial cannot reach the fire or in a high-rise, proceed to the floor above the fire, team up with the outside vent firefighter, and search the floor above the fire. Chock open the apartment door, and open the windows to evaluate wind conditions. If no wind blows in, and after receiving permission from the IC, use a halligan tool attached to a utility rope to vent the apartment windows below. Do not vent if a stiff wind blows in. You may drive the attack team right off the fire floor. However, if the fire is on the top floor, attempt to get to the roof by an enclosed stairwell; use the evacuation stairwell, and tell your officer which stair you’re using.

CUTTING THE ROOF
Normally, because the members of the first-due ladder company are heavily engaged in opening the bulkhead and conducting primary searches, the task of cutting the roof falls to the second-due ladder company. (An exception might be a top-floor fire at a row frame where rapid fire spread in the cockloft often dictates immediate roof ventilation.) Generally, the responsibility for getting the saw to the roof falls on the second-due outside vent firefighter. The illustrations on page 100 depict some of the roof cuts with which a firefighter should be familiar.

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
Consider the following when assigned the roof:

• Beware of the truss. If the fire involves a truss, get off the roof.
• If you can’t see, crawl.
• Make sure you have two ways off the roof as soon as possible.
• Watch out for tarred-over patches, fiberglass panels, open scuttles, and excessive loads such as signs, snow, and steel decking.
• Fire can spread extremely rapidly over membrane roofs.
• Don’t use the saw on a roof you can’t walk on; use an ax instead.
• Don’t cut between yourself and your exit.
• If you encounter plywood roof decking, suspect that you may be on a truss. (Older, solid-joist construction generally is 1-inch 2 6-inch roof decking.)
• If you encounter a cloud of white dust when you cut the roof, suspect that you may be on a gypsum plank roof. Get off.
• Cut with the wind at your back.
• Fire escapes are treacherous. Watch out for rusted-through steps, loose gooseneck ladders, greased goosenecks, and razor wire encasing the fire escape.

The roof firefighter’s job is one of the most difficult on the fireground. He requires skill, courage, and tenacity to get to the roof and “take the lid off.” This single action allows the hoseline to advance and searches to commence. It is an essential fireground function that should not be left to chance. Will you be ready when the company officer says, “You’ve got the roof”?

LANCE C. PEEPLES is a firefighter in St. Louis County, Missouri. He formerly served as a shift supervisor for the City of St. Louis Department of EMS. He has a bachelor’s degree in public administration and associate degrees in fire protection and paramedic technology and has taught fire protection technology at East Central College.