Firefighters practice roof cutting

Pittsburg Morning Sun - December 16, 2009



SEAN STEFFEN/THE MORNING SUN
From left, Pittsburg fire fighters Taylor Cerne, Matt Stringer, and Cody Hobbs cut a ventilation hole in the roof of a house owned by the Pittsburg Fire Department while taking part in a training exercise Tuesday afternoon next door to Pittsburg Fire Station No. 1.

Firefighters climbed quickly onto the roof of a Pittsburg home Tuesday, dragging a fire hose up the ladder with them. Once on top of the house, the firefighters revved up a chainsaw and started cutting a four-foot-by-four-foot square out of the top of the home before coming back down the ladder and off the roof. Then, the men did it again.
It was all part of a practice for Pittsburg Fire Department firefighters, who got a rare opportunity to practice creating ventilation holes on a home that was not on fire.
"We do not get enough homes like this. It's better for us with the lights, there's no smoke or gas coming out, and we can keep practicing," said Jim Radell, PFD captain. "This is as good as we get."
The firefighters were practicing ventilation training, which involves creating an exit point for smoke, heat and gases.
It's part of a new approach to fighting fires. Now, the goal is to create positive pressure ventilation.
After checking the scene, firefighters now typically look for an exit point, that is, a broken window or an open non-front door. Then, the firefighters bring in a powerful fan that pushes the heat, smoke and gases away from the front door and toward the exit point within 15-20 seconds. Often, that will be a broken window or an open door, but if those situations don't exist and the fire is creating the potential for a backdraft, then firefighters have to get on top of the house to cut out a place for the fire to escape.
Tuesday's practice was being conducted on a home next door to Fire Station No. 1 that was recently bought out. In fact, the home's former owner moved out last week and the city got the deed on Friday.
All Pittsburg fire shifts will get a turn at practicing ventilation training on the home by the end of the week.
"This is real important," said Pittsburg Fire Chief Scott Crain. "Structure fires don't happen as much anymore. The technology has changed. The positive pressure ventilation helps reduce some of the danger, too."
In fact, there was one relatively new firefighter getting his first action in fire training. Radell said Cody Hobbs had only been a firefighter for a few weeks, and he was the first to man the chainsaw and get to cutting. After a few learning opportunities - do step out to get a better base, don't step in your cutaway zone - he got a good chunk of the roof cut out.
There were other learning opportunities for other firefighters on Tuesday, like don't drop your pike pole while puncturing the ceiling, but the moment was still better than learning on the fly.
"It's better for us to make these mistakes here than getting on a structure fire at 2 a.m.," Crain said. "If we're going to a fire, this way, everyone's done it and knows they can handle it."