Video: House Fire…The Fire Critic Weighs in on Improper Ventilation Technique

ventilating the roofI have something to say. Many ask why I don’t weigh in on actions and tactics I see in videos I post on FireCritic.com. This is one of those times I CANNOT stay silent. Fast-forward to 3:50 in the video for what I am talking about. This is NOT a correct way of ventilating a roof. Most of you know I am not a “Safety Sallie”. Our profession is inherently dangerous, we need to operate as safely and effectively as possible.

The reason for me pointing out what is seen in the video is that we don’t need any other views to see the whole picture. I have seen enough, and these guys should be pulled from the roof. They are not getting the job done. They are simply doing it wrong and are not assisting with the ventilating at all. Any IC worth his salt would remove them from the roof and replace them with a crew that knows how to ventilate.

This DOES not mean that these firefighters are BAD firefighters or that the department is a BAD department. It simply means that as a collective group, they need to PRACTICE ventilating peaked roofs. Plain and simple. This could happen anywhere.

Below are two instructional videos on ventilating a peaked roof.