By Michael N. Ciampo
It was Sunday, and the pregame appetizers of chicken wings and nachos were just hitting the table prior to the football game. We managed to eat lunch without an interruption and especially enjoyed the back-and-forth chatter of the two members whose favorite teams were playing. Just as halftime was over and the close game was resuming, the tones went off and we went out the door for a possible cornice collapse. As I pulled up my bunker pants, my mental size-up was in full motion. Would this be a partial or a full-scale cornice and parapet collapse? Was it going to be a large section of marble, brick, or even wood or tin? Would it be dangling off the front of the building? Would there be any injuries on the ground under the debris?
Looking at the response ticket, we saw our truck was the only tower ladder on the ticket. That probably meant we would be put to work to secure the cornice in place with utility ropes, remove it in small sections if feasible, or take one of the city’s building engineers up for a ride to perform an evaluation.
Approaching the scene, we noticed a section of what looked to be a tin cornice missing and another section tilting away from the building. We reported in to the incident commander (IC), and he informed us that he already had a truck and the squad operating on the roof and top floor to assess the situation. He asked my opinion on whether the truck could park on the corner and reach the affected area from there, because of the traffic signal pole on the corner.
After conferring with the chauffeur, we both decided we could achieve this position but would have to put the outrigger onto the sidewalk to obtain a workable position. Positioning on the corner left the apparatus out of the immediate collapse zone and also allowed the boom to be raised out of the danger area. (Remember, you don’t want to elevate under a dangling ornamental or structural member; approach it from outside its collapse zone and boom over to it once you are level with it or slightly above it.)
As we got the apparatus into position, we noticed the section of cornice that was missing on the sidewalk. Most of us did a double-take at what we saw: It was a four-foot prefabricated fiberglass section of cornice, complete with dental and crown molding. One of the members picked it up and said it weighed about 30 pounds; that calculation told us that if we had to remove the other piece, it wouldn’t overload the tower ladder bucket.
While the companies were attempting to secure the dangling piece of cornice with utility ropes, we prepared our equipment complement in case we had to remove any of the remaining sections of the cornice. We put the following tools in the bucket: a reciprocating saw and blade kit, a power saw and spare blades (metal and wood cutting), a bolt cutter, and additional utility ropes. A mounted set of irons and hooks is already there, so that wouldn’t have to be transported.
As the team was loading the bucket with tools, you could tell some of the members were eager to go up in the bucket; however, our preassigned positions determined who went up. As the bucket ascended, a few members mentioned how lucky the two firefighters were who were in it-this was the first time in a long time that this type of cornice collapse didn’t involve flying pigeon feathers and a large amount of pigeon excrement dropping onto the members. (It wouldn’t be the first time a self-contained breathing apparatus was worn for a cornice collapse and bunker gear would have to be sent out for decontamination!)
Once the rescue, squad, and ladder companies operating on the roof and top floor informed the IC that the best option was to remove the other dangling piece, the tower ladder moved into position. The piece was secured with a utility rope while the members in the bucket cut the attachment bolts with a saw and removed the dangling piece of cornice. Because of its light weight, they easily removed the piece to the rooftop and then into the top-floor hallway, preventing it from blowing off the roof or having to be transported to the ground by the tower ladder.
On completion of the operation, the units held an informal critique; many agreed that this was the first time they saw this type of replacement cornice. They were also surprised that it was just lagged into a top and bottom ledger board attached to the building’s façade. The wood had rotted away, causing the lag bolts to pull out of it.
During the critique, the firefighters raised the following points:
- If heavy fire were venting from the top floor, would the cornice burn or ignite across the whole front of the structure even if it was fire retardant? (This also occurs with tin cornices full of pigeon nests.)
- Would hot melting droplets of fiberglass or plastic resin fall down onto the members operating below?
- While positioning the aerial or a tower ladder to the roof, use caution. Striking this type of cornice could dislodge one of these sections and hit an unsuspecting member below.
- Accessing this roof from an aerial or tower ladder could be dangerous. Always use caution making the transition, and sound the roof prior to stepping onto it!
Once at quarters, we replenished the tool inventory by putting new blades on the reciprocating saw and blade kit and setting the battery on charge. We topped off the other saw’s fuel and examined the blade for wear. We discussed that bringing an assortment of tools worked out well because when one didn’t work, the other did. We also noted that wearing the safety belt inside the bucket during these operations is essential. It wasn’t a run we hadn’t seen before, but it was one of those “you learn something new all the time” experiences.
● MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 27-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladder chapter and co-authored the Ventilation chapter for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos on www.FireEngineering.com.
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