SOP Manual - Cleveland Fire Department

Cleveland Fire Department
Operations Manual
When you cut a hole in a roof cut a big one.
We ventilate to alter the interior conditions. The best operating position to determine if a building requires
ventilation and the locations and timing of ventilation is the inside attack team. Interior and roof forces
must communicate in order to coordinate the effort effectively.
Do not operate hand lines, particularly ladder pipes, down ventilation holes. Operate hose lines on roofs
only for the protection of personnel and external exposures.
Effective topside ventilation will tend to keep roofs intact longer and roof condition necessarily becomes
extremely important to ventilation activities. If ladder crews cannot get on the roof to ventilate because of
advanced fire, Command had best begin to REACT in marginal offensive/defensive terms. Hose line crews
can probably get inside and stay inside longer than ladder crews can stay on the roof. AXIOM: It is better
to abandon the building a bit soon rather than a bit too late.
Forcible entry involves a trade-off in time versus damage; the faster you force -- the more damage you do.
The more critical the fire, the less important forcible entry damage becomes and vise versa. If the fire is
progressing and you must go in and attack from the unburned side, don’t waste time trying to pick the locks
-- force the door open.
REMEMBER -- Try before you pry!
The provision of access many times will determine if the fire is cut off and extinguished or not. These
access-oriented activities generally involve pulling ceilings, opening up concealed spaces and voids, and
the activities required to get fire attack efforts in to operate on hidden fire. Such operations beat up the fire
building and must be done in a timely well placed manner. In such cases, do not hesitate -- if you size up
fire working inside a concealed space, get ahead of it, open up and cut it off.
Beware of the premature opening of doors, holes, access efforts, etc. before lines are in place and crews are
ready to go inside. Good timing requires effective communication between Engine Companies or attack
teams, Ladder Companies and Command.
When laddering a roof, the ladder selected shall be one, which will extend 2' -- 3' above the roofline. This
shall be done in an effort to provide personnel operating on the roof with visible means of egress.
Once a building is laddered, NO PERSONNEL SHALL REMOVE THE LADDER FROM THE
BUILDING DURING FIREFIGHTING OPERATIONS EXCEPT FOR THE CREW WHO
PLACED THE LADDER IN SERVICE. If a ladder has to be moved, personnel shall climb the ladder
and check for personnel operating above the fire (i.e. roof, second floor, etc.) before moving the ladder.
If possible, when laddering buildings under fire conditions, place ladders near building corners or fire walls
as these areas are generally more stable in the event of structural failure.
When using the aerial ladder or Snorkel, the apparatus should be spotted at or near the corner of the
structure. This gives the aerial apparatus the ability to reach two separate sides of the building. Also, the
corner of the building is more stable in cases of structural failure.
Mechanical ventilation of a building requires a coordinated effort between Engine Companies and Ladder
Companies. Remember that mechanical ventilation forces in or out large volumes of air and may increase
the rate in which the fire is spreading.
Effective: June 1, 1997 Revised: 5/14/2009 Page | 194
Approved by: Chief Chuck Atchley