By: David Rickert
“The art of good ground ladder placement lies in the ability to quickly recognize what are and are not viable laddering positions. This is accomplished by being able to effectively prioritize the hazards; thus reducing the many possibilities more quickly and efficiently.”
Throwing ground ladders for roof operations on a steeply-pitched two or two-and-a-half-story dwelling will present a far more challenging scenario than merely having to place a ladder to a fixed or specific objective such as a window or porch. This will be especially true in an urban setting and will require that you take into account many more variables including some which may be constantly changing.
Variables/Hazards/Obstacles
Things which impede, hinder, or otherwise alter ladder positioning fall into two basic categories: Static or Dynamic.
STATIC: Variables which are preexisting or mostly unchanging.
These will include, but are not limited to, the type of structure, location of other structures, windows, doors, dormers, chimneys, satellite dishes, roof type, power-lines, wires, cables (wires or cables do not have to be energized in order to cause problems), vehicles, fences, trees, bushes and terrain (including uneven, sloping ground or hills).
DYNAMIC: Emergent or changing conditions such as location and progression of the fire, other crews and hose lines. It becomes the dynamic variables that will be the most difficult to factor into the size-up.
STATIC AND/OR DYNAMIC: Most of the time, weather will be counted as a stable variable, but it can also be dynamic. The most likely dynamic variable regarding weather will be the wind, but may also include snow, ice, rain and lightning. Some types of weather, or weather-related conditions, will not only require you to change your location, but may prevent you from going to the roof altogether.
Roof Types and Ground Ladder Placements
Having a good grasp of building construction and roof types in your area is an integral part of any size-up plan and will allow you to quickly break down starting points for laddering positions. The graphic below highlights some of these basic roof types and potential starting points:
The red stripes indicate potential laddering positions; the yellow indicates the “ventable” roof area.
1. Gable: steeply pitched, two sides
2. Gambrel: steeply pitched, two sides
3. Hipped Roof-Ridged/Classic: steeply pitched, two sides
4. Gable-Shallow pitch: (“walkable”) with two sides or it may be possible to ladder the ridge directly. This should only be attempted if there are no gable/ridge vents or attic windows.
5. Hipped Roof-Ridged/Classic-Shallow pitch: (“walkable”) with four sides *
6. Flat Roof: four sides
7. Mansard: four sides
* This may be reduced to two sides in Northern climates during the winter months, when even “walkable” roofs become unwalkable due to snowy or icy conditions.
The Size-up Process
Having a systematic size-up process will offer you the best chance at rapidly and consistently identifying favorable laddering positions. Taking a little extra time to properly size-up can pay dividends later on, in time, effort and safety.
A basic size-up plan may be as follows:
I. Identify the roof type: gable, hip, gambrel, etc., as well as basic construction: balloon, platform, new, old or legacy.
II. Location and momentum of the fire.
III. Getting a 270- or 360-degree view of the structure when feasible (if this can be accomplished quickly)
IV. Where is the ideal (hole) location? Can a ground ladder be placed to the gutter-line directly below that point, or are there hazards/obstacles which prevent this?
V. If not, what is the next best ladder position possible taking all the hazards and obstacles into consideration?
Remember, dynamic variables will be changing and evolving even as you are determining placement and setting up for the roof. This means that they may need to be reconsidered at any time during the size-up process.
This plan incorporates the most important considerations, and offers a good starting point to begin forming a ground ladder protocol specific to your department. Some good additional questions to ask: Can it be implemented quickly in 30-45 seconds?
Can it be implemented consistently?
Does it address most situations which occur on the fireground?
Is it easy to adapt when encountering new or unexpected obstacles?
The true test of any plan is making the jump from paper to the real world. We can approximate what this might look like and apply this rudimentary plan to a realistic fire scenario.
Walk through Scenario:
The basic parameters are as follows: Weather
Temp: 60 degrees. Wind: light, 0 to 5 mph.
Confirmed structure fire: The first engine is on the scene and 1 3/4″ line is being laid out. Upon arrival, the incident commander orders you to vent the roof, and you are unable to use aerial due to positioning of other apparatus and the setback of the house.
The view upon arrival from the front or A-side of the fire building:
General Impression: The street view will usually be your first chance at sizing up the fire building for potential ground ladder placement. In this case, the building type is common in your area, and you are familiar with its characteristics. It is a turn-of-the-century two-and-ahalf- story wood frame with a full attic and, most likely, balloon-frame construction. The roof is a steeply-pitched gable (12/12 pitch) which will give you two choices for laddering: the B-side and D-side, and has one or more dormers. The main staircase will likely be located behind the front door, or in the case of some Midwestern Cities, towards the rear of the building, and will give crews access to every floor of the building from the basement to the attic. The latter stairwell location will be used in this fire and laddering scenario. The fire appears to be in the rear.
The proximity of the D-side exposure looks as though it will prevent ground ladders from being used on the D-side of the fire building.
Making this observation early will allow you to quickly cut your assessment area in half, and focus on the B-side for laddering points.
The first hose line has been laid through the B-side gangway making this the “working” side of the fire building and ensuring that other hose-lines and crews will soon follow using this as their main means of accessing the interior of the fire building.
Peeking out over the gable, you are just able to make out a center dormer on the B-side of the roof with smoke rising up behind it.
Plan Implementation:
• Identified roof-type and building Construction
• Identified hose-line placement and working side
• Identified D-side exposure obstacle reducing assessment area by half; and Identified a roof obstacle (dormer) on the B-side of the roof.
Walking down the B-side gangway this is your view towards the rear:
General Impression: The fire seems to have some headway: heavy smoke from the rear of the building indicates possible extension beyond the room of origin; No signs of fire below the second floor or stairwell.
Fire from the two second-story windows in the rear (most likely a bedroom): This also appears to be the room of origin. There is a good chance that this fire is running the studs and making its way into the attic.
A window located between floors is a good indicator of where the rear stairwell is located. In this particular type of building, there is also a good chance that it is the main stairwell that runs from the basement to each floor, and services the attic. The engine company will likely be making their push up this stairwell to the fire floor.
Electrical service coming in from the alley.
Plan Implementation:
• Identified Fire location-Floor and most likely area of origin,
• Tentatively identified the main stairwell which will be used for suppression operations, and Identified where the electrical service is coming from.
View from the BC-Corner:
General impression: Smoke is pushing, not drifting, from both the gutter-line and gable eaves; it’s a good bet that fire is beginning to enter the attic space. Smoke from the C-side second floor windows is vigorous, with the center window possibly lighting up soon.
Center dormer will restrict access to the eave-line toward A-side of the building.
Based solely on the location of the fire, this is a good laddering point. If the fire runs the studs into the attic, it will be here, making this side of the roof the ideal choice. The downside is that you will be setting up on the “working” side of the building; this not only creates a hazard for your crew, but may jeopardize other crews and hose-lines when the roof is pulled and dropped to the ground. The other potential hazard is from the fire itself: if it mushrooms out along the eave, this may impinge on your ground ladder making its use a little more “exciting.”
The rear door to the structure and the main stairwell- The first hose-line is laid through this doorway and will continue to be a hub of activity with both engine and truck companies utilizing this entrance to access the building, simultaneously: laying other hose-lines, searching and rescuing, shutting down utilities and overhauling.
Electrical service entering the building is one of the most dangerous and pervasive hazards on the fireground, especially at night, and as it relates to raising ladders. Even if it will not interfere with setting the ground ladder for roof operations, as is the case here, it is still good to note where the service enters the building.
The D-side exposure. It appears that the D-side exposure building is not as long as the fire building. This may yield another good laddering point for roof access. This was not apparent from the street view and reinforces the importance of trying to see all sides of the building to be laddered whenever it is feasible.
Plan Implementation:
• Identified roof obstruction
• Identified ideal roof opening location
• Confirmed working stairwell location
• Confirmed where electrical service is entering the building
• Identified another possible laddering point; and noted the fire’s progress and momentum
View from CD-Corner:
General Impression: The fire is continuing to gain headway: smoke pushing from the D-side eave and window indicates fire has expanded beyond the room of origin. The fire running the exterior wall studs on the B-side is not the only concern. Fire extension into the attic may also be occurring via interior walls and ceilings due to plaster lathe dropping, through openings or gaps created by conduit, plumbing, chimneys or building renovations.
Center window on the C-side has lit in the five seconds it took to walk to the D-side of the house. It is now obvious that this is an aggressive growth-stage fire which is continuing to gain momentum and generating tremendous amounts of smoke and heat.
Moving to the D-side confirms that there is indeed a good laddering point located to the rear of the non-working side.
Plan Implementation:
• Noted aggressive fire behavior and fire progression
• Confirmed another, or perhaps, a better laddering poin
Decision time:
You have identified two viable laddering points; however, which one is better under the circumstances? Evaluating both positions by applying three important criteria will allow us to make the right/best decision:
• Best Location (in relationship to the fire)
• Safest Position
• Fastest Deployment
Evaluation: B-side position Vs D-side position
Best Location: Slight advantage B-side
B-side: is the ideal location. It will allow for a roof vent directly above, where the fire is most likely to enter the attic.
D-side: How much difference will it make if the hole is opened up on the D-side of the roof?
Answer: Not too much; at least not in this case. This type of structure often has a common attic and peak space. Even when partitioned, the partitions rarely run all the way to the peak, keeping the peak space one common area.
Safest Position: Clear Advantage D-side
B-side:This position has a couple of things going against it: Adjacent window is venting heavy fire, which may hinder placement or retreat from roof if it mushrooms out along gutter-line.
Set-up will not only be on the working side (B-side) of the building, but at the working end (B/C corner). This means you will be setting-up and working above the most congested area of the fire building.
D-Side: Like the B-side position, there is an adjacent window. It is not currently venting fire, but may be soon.
Set-up will be away from most other personnel and crews. This will allow you to set up and operate freely without too much consideration where your roof debris will be falling.
Fastest Deployment: Slight Advantage D-side
B-side: This would be a tie, except for the fact you will be setting up in a high traffic area, which might possibly slow you down.
D-side: Urban fire crews are used to operating in close quarters alongside and in conjunction with other companies. That said, stuff happens, and it is nice when a truck crew going to the roof doesn’t have to worry about or possibly be hindered by other crews laying hose lines or ferrying equipment while trying to raise and position your ladders.
DECISION: D-SIDE
After evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of both, you should come to the conclusion that the D-side offers the better laddering position. Even though you are giving up position in regards to where the fire most likely will enter the attic, it is not enough to overcome the slight speed advantage and clear-gain in safety of a D-side opening. The B-side location will still provide a good laddering point for a secondary means of egress, and could still be used as the primary if for whatever reason the D-side can no longer be used.
This is just one scenario: by adding or changing even a single variable, we can create countless others that will generate a whole new set of problems and considerations. The important part of this exercise is that it allows you to see the process in action – and how we incorporate the size-up plan while determining and evaluating laddering placements.
Other Points to Consider: If it is determined that the fire started on a floor below attic level, it is not advisable to place ladders within one or two feet of or over windows in order to gain access to the roof. The reasons for this are twofold. If the windows are going to be used for either vent-entersearch (VES) or rapid egress by interior crews, your ladders will become an obstacle. Additionally, if conditions suddenly deteriorate, windows may vent directly into/onto your ladders, rendering them unusable or inaccessible. This can occur rapidly and without warning.
Even if this roof could be accessed via aerial, ground ladders are the better choice. Their deployment will be faster and more precise than that of the aerial. In most cases the aerial will only give you access to the front portion of the peak and, with fire located in the rear of the structure, this means roof ladders would have to be leapfrogged to the rear in order to open up in reasonable proximity to the fire. This will be time consuming and move you away from your primary means of egress.
Positioning of ground ladders into buildings with roof pitches that are unwalkable is particularly critical. Unlike flat or gently pitched roofs where you can simply walk to a favorable location above the fire once access to the roof is made, steeply pitched roofs will require a more difficult and time consuming relocation of roof ladders and equipment in order to gain a favorable position above the fire if the ground ladder is located too far away from where the fire is.
Conclusion: Once it is determined that ground ladders will be used in order to make the roof, it is critical that size-up for ground ladder placement is able to be quickly implemented. While it is impossible to address all the variables or possibilities that might exist on the fireground, having a well practiced regimen in place – along with a flexible plan – should allow you to have successful outcomes for most any situation encountered.
