Tag Archives: Roof Ventilation

Video info: A house located at 338 Derrick Avenue in South Union Township was heavily damaged by fire Wednesday night. The flames were reported about 9 p.m. with South Union, Hopwood and Uniontown firefighters responding to battle the fire.

This video of a house fire shows why we take an axe to ventilate the roof in case the saw quits. One firefighter is going to work with an axe, while the other it trying to get a saw going. Of course, we can't tell if the saw stalled on the roof or if the firefighter forgot to start it on the ground before making his way to the roof (recommended). Luckily, another firefighter brings a second saw to the roof to finish the cut.

The title of this video is "Roof Ventilation Fail". I think that is kinda harsh. The only issue I see here is that no handtools were brought up on the roof. There are two main reasons why we take tools up on the roof to ventilate: 1. In case the saw stops working. 2. To open up the hole once it has been cut. Another reason might be to make a purchase point for which to place your foot on that isn't on the ladder.

The fire was started by the car in the garage/carport. Firefighters probably did not know that going into this. It might have helped to knockdown the fire from the outside first. After all, it took 5 minutes after the ladder arrived to get the hose in the door. At the 12 minute mark, most of the fire was still rolling. Maybe the bulk of the fire was outside of the living space of the house.

The video is news coverage, but it contains decent footage of firefighters quickly getting off the roof after venting it. This was a fatal fire. The roof ladder and K saw can be replaced!