The Gap Between Two Roofs
You are on the roof of a two-storey terrace to reach a casualty on the adjoining roof. The two roofs are pitched at about 35 degrees. The gap between the eaves is roughly 1.2 metres. The roofs are slate, it has been raining, and the surface is wet. There is a valley gutter between them. Your crew has a 4.5 m ladder, a roof ladder, and a line. The casualty is conscious and calling for help from a skylight on the far roof, about 6 metres from the gap. The far roof has no safe access from the ground on your side.
1. What is the safest way to reach the casualty, and what do you do first?
Read the worked answer
First: secure the scene and stop anyone stepping across the gap.
- The gap is 1.2 m, the pitch is 35°, the slate is wet, and there is a valley gutter - a step or jump across is a fall risk with a high chance of serious injury. Do not cross on foot.
- Bridge the gap properly: lay the 4.5 m ladder across the gap as a bridge, footed and tied off at both ends, or use the roof ladder hooked over the ridge if the geometry allows. Test it before loading it.
- Use the line for anyone working near the gap, anchored to a sound point on your roof.
- Call for the aerial appliance or a specialist line if the bridge cannot be made safe. The casualty is conscious and calling, which buys you time to do it properly.
Reasoning: the fastest route is not the safest route, and a rescuer who falls becomes a second casualty.
2. The ladder bridge cannot be tied off safely at the far end. What now?
Read the worked answer
Do not improvise a crossing. Change the plan.
- Request the aerial appliance and give the casualty a clear instruction to stay put and keep talking.
- Consider reaching the far roof from the ground on the far side - a 4.5 m ladder to the eaves on that side may be safer than any roof-to-roof move, even if it means repositioning.
- If the casualty's condition deteriorates, reassess whether a line-protected crossing with two rescuers is justified - but only with a proper anchor and a spotter, and record why the risk was accepted.
The principle: an untied bridge is not a bridge. If you cannot make the crossing safe, you make a different crossing, not a braver one.