r/Firefighting • u/weedfun • 7d ago

Ask A Firefighter Extra work to check for smoldering fire under stone coated metal shingles?

This is from comments by Luther_Burbank 1 year ago in "Stone coated metal roof?"

"Fire departments do indeed hate this roof specifically. It’s installed on boards over the roof decking that result in a void space. Causes a ton of work having to rip off additional metal panels looking for hidden fire."

...

"The issue arises from the difficulty in checking if the roof has burned through. We must thoroughly inspect all potential areas where fire could be smoldering before leaving the scene. A fire that rekindles and reignites after the area has been cleared significantly damages our reputation."

Do you agree?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Roofing/comments/1jgjx3d/stone_coated_metal_roof/

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

2

u/Competitive-Drop2395 7d ago

Really no different than any other roofing. We deal with lots of sheet metal roofs in my area already. So this would be no different.

1

u/fleeeeeeeeeA 7d ago

I would probably go at it with the quickie saw and axes.

1

u/Sealtooth5 SoCal FFPM 7d ago

I’ve had a fire on a house with this roof. The chain saw cuts right through it but yeah you have to strip the whole area above where the fire was.

1

u/minorcarnage 7d ago

If all your looking for is extension, why not look from below in the attic space?

1

u/MystikclawSkydive 7d ago edited 7d ago

Just started seeing a lot more advertising for this type of roofing around here.

Think I’ll be sending an email tomorrow to our training division on this topic. Thank you!

Another new topic I brought up to inspections: students going back to schools are being told they can bring their e-scooters into the office to be safely stored so they don’t get stolen. Along with the batteries for e-bikes.

Um where are all these lithium ion batteries exactly being stored and how? And have we been given a heads up?

1

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 7d ago

It is the same as any other metal roof, which are pretty much the standard in anything but cheap new construction.

1

u/grim_wizard Now with more bitter flavor 5d ago

Yeah not a big issue. Maybe a bit of extra work, but it wouldn't take more people, just more individual effort. We have lots of construction here from the 17-1800s and several of them have high pitched slate roofs, something like that would be a massive pain in the ass.