SHALL I, OR…?
RANDOM THOUGHTS ON…
This question or pause or doubting phrase is usually followed by action words such as dance, buy, make, develop, or do. The old adage, “Ask yourself again before…,” is usually sage advice—in normal everyday life, that is.
For us, we can’t afford too many “shall I’s,” especially if the following action words are in the mouths of those assigned to the roof of the fire building: “Shall 1 cut the roof, open the skylight or scuttle first, or look over side 2, .3, or 4 for trapped civilians before 1 cut open the roof? Shall I stay here or get off?”
Shall I look for civilians or open the roof? Our dedication to life may force you to automatically say, “Look over the sides.” Hut experience tells us a different story. Suppose you locate someone in distress at a window somewhat below you who’s threatening to jump or is thinking about dropping children or … What would you do? Sure, get involved, communicate their location to the interior team, calm them, assure them, remain visible to them —become them. What haven’t you done? Opened the roof!
These visible, panicking civilians may not be the most severe life hazard in that building, only the most panicked and the most visible and loud. Their condition and that of the other civilians may be more positively impacted (lessened) by simply opening the roof. There is nothing you can do to personally remove these people. That effort must come from inside or below in most cases. If conditions are that bad, the interior forces are 100 percent more effective with vertical ventilation established. Interior handlines move faster and interior search teams can be more thorough.
Reversing the horizontal spread by opening the roof may make an exterior removal attempt less treacherous, especially if the victims are above the fire compartment.
So get to the roof and open it. Any other behavior will only delay you — perhaps too long.
Shall 1 open the scuttle cover or skylight first? Well, we’re talking about more than a one-line fire here and size-up should have ruled out fires involving food, garbage, mattresses, and oil burner ignition problems.
The decision is obvious if you realize why these devices are on the roof in the first place. Scuttles are hatches in the roof to give the owner easy access for maintenance. They are reached by vertical ladder in some remote area (usually a closet) on the. top floor, the area that quickly serves as a storage area. The threat of crime has placed heavy-duty locking devices on these hatches from below. The skylight was installed before electricity was available or to save electricity. They are almost always over an area frequented by the inhabitants of the building such as work areas, interior stair shafts, and hallways.
Think about your main objective — to relieve conditions in the occupied interior —and your decision should be obvious: Remove the skylight, assess conditions, and then enhance the effort by removing the scuttle.
Shall I cut the roof open? Thereis an “almost always” basic rule that is so “almost” it makes your decision so easy. If the fire is on the top floor, cut. If it’s not, don’t.
The how-to’s and the when’s of these questions are basics and fun to talk about. Next time.
Be safe.
