Why Do Firefighters Chop Holes in Roofs and Walls and Break Windows?

By: John Carlin Sr.

Most every time you see the Six O'clock News there is video from fires that occur throughout the area. Photographers always seem to focus in on the firefighters chopping a hole in the roof or smashing the windows. Did you ever wonder why firefighters do that? Isn't that just causing more damage?

The fact is that performing these tasks can assist in extinguishing the fire much quicker. It also helps firefighters locate and rescue victims faster and it makes conditions safer for firefighters to operate in. Because we can extinguish the fire faster, it actually reduces the amount of damage that will occur from the fire.
 
Let's first talk about chopping holes in the roof. This is done as part of a task called ventilating. It is very important to provide an escape route for the products of combustion (smoke). By letting the smoke out, it reduces the heat, improves visibility, and reduces the risk of hazards to firefighters called flashovers or backdrafts. "Venting" a building is critical to making the firefight more efficient and safer for the crews that are operating inside the building. Imagine being in a room where all of the smoke and heat that is generated by the fire has no place to go but to bank down on the firefighters trying to advance into the room to extinguish the fire. Of course you know what happens when you apply water to fire right? You guessed it - hot steam. Despite our protective turnout gear, the steam always finds a way to get to the firefighter and cook us like lobsters. Visibility drops to zero and many times we are driven out of the room, allowing the fire to continue to consume the building and its contents. Creating the ventilation hole in the roof is part of what is called vertical ventilation. It gets this name because the smoke and heat travel vertically and cutting a hole above a fire is the most effective path to draw the smoke and heat out of the building similar to a chimney effect. This method of ventilation is most effective when the fire is into the attic or roof space and sometimes not very effective if it is a content fire on the first floor of a 2 or more story house where the fire is somewhat confined to the lower floor. Achieving vertical ventilation is a very positive function in the firefight but it has some dangerous drawbacks. It is rather time consuming and labor intensive to get the ladders in place and get firefighters to the right place on the roof and to get the hole cut. Any interior drop ceilings need to be knocked down which places firefighters in the path of the escaping heat and smoke. Firefighters are also operating above the fire and are at risk of a roof collapse. This is especially true in newer buildings that use truss-roofing members, which are very weak under fire conditions.
  
 
 
 
So is there a safer method of ventilating a building? Yes- and that brings us to why we break windows. Breaking windows is what we call horizontal ventilating. It provides a route for the smoke to escape horizontally. This method is much faster to achieve, it requires less effort and manpower, and it does not place the firefighter in as much danger as vertically ventilating via the roof. When we can determine where the fire is within the building, we will break the windows in that area. The severity of the fire conditions determines how many windows we might need to break to achieve safer conditions for the firefighters to operate in. If you compare the damage caused by breaking a window to the benefits archived by the task, it is a no-brainer. We can put out the fire quicker and most importantly, make things safer for our fellow firefighters that are operating in very hazardous conditions. The fact of the matter is that windows that are exposed to high heat and black smoke will most likely be stained or cracked and need to be replaced anyway. When we break the windows, timing is very important. We have to have an attack crew with a hoseline ready to advance into the fire area. The public should NEVER think that they are helping us by breaking the windows for us. Breaking them at the wrong time, in the wrong place, or in the wrong manner can make things worse, not better.

If time and conditions allow, an occupant of a building can help to reduce fire spread by simply shutting (not locking) the door to a room where a fire is burning. Never put yourself in harms way to do this. The important thing is that you get out of the building safely and never reenter the building to close a door or try to save some property. Remember, property can be replaced, people can't.

So that explains the holes in the roof and why we break windows. But what about putting holes in the walls or stripping the plaster or drywall off of the studs and joists? This is part of a task we call overhauling. In this phase of the operation we make certain that there is no "hidden fire" still burning inside stud channels or that may have spread to other areas of the building. Fire travels up and out and can spread through the smallest of openings. Holes drilled in studs or joists for running electric lines or plumbing creates paths that fire can commonly spread through. We need to be certain that the fire is totally extinguished the first time so we do not have to return or allow further damage to occur if a fire rekindles. The use of new Thermal Imaging Cameras can assist us in determining fire spread but cannot replace proven overhauling tactics.

Hopefully after reading this you can better understand why firefighters cut holes in roofs, break windows, and strip walls and ceilings. It may seem like we are causing more damage but we are causing a little damage to prevent a lot of damage and to provide safety for those that risk their lives to save the public's property.

If you have any questions about anything we do or think you might be interested in joining our ranks to help the public, contact us on line, call us at 825-6144, or visit either of our fire stations.