Firefighters cut holes in burning roofs on purpose, and it saves lives
Watching crews smash windows and hack openings in a roof can look like extra damage. It is deliberate. Venting releases smoke, poisonous gases and trapped heat, which helps locate victims and can head off a backdraft or flashover, the sudden ignition of a whole room at temperatures that are often fatal to firefighters.
Firefighting rests on a simple model. A fire needs fuel, oxygen and heat, the fire triangle, and some fires also depend on a sustaining chemical chain reaction, making a tetrahedron. Remove any one element and the fire dies. Water is the usual tool, but some blazes call for foam or dry agents, and airport crews train specifically to smother burning aviation fuel.
At a burning building the priorities run in a fixed order: saving lives, stabilising the incident, then conserving property. An incident commander decides whether crews attack from inside, hauling hoses in to cool the fire directly, or from outside, aiming water through openings and at nearby fuel. Venting through the roof is called vertical ventilation; opening windows and walls is horizontal. Smashing a window before entry can also reveal a backdraft risk before anyone walks into it. Even property protection has its routines: crews push furniture to the centre and throw a heavy salvage tarp over it.
The job has shifted. In developed countries such as the United States, structure fires have been declining for years, so rescues from crashed vehicles, collapsed buildings and confined spaces make up a growing share of the work, which is why many brigades, including most in Britain, call themselves fire and rescue services. Many firefighters are certified to give basic medical care, responding to medical calls as those emergencies rise. Fire departments usually lead responses to hazardous material spills, too.
Protection is constant. Each firefighter wears breathing apparatus with a full face mask and often a small alarm that sounds if the wearer stops moving, guiding a rescue team to a colleague in trouble. Wildfires follow different rules; because burning can help new plants grow, some are allowed to run their course.
Source: Firefighter
