Clinton, N.J.— August 18 — The Clinton Fire Department held a vertical ventilation-focused training practice with a new, custom-built roof prop on Monday night. The prop was built using donated lumber from Fox Lumber, and the department expressed gratitude for their assistance.

The training gave teams the opportunity to practice constructing roof apertures, cutting through imitation shingles and decking, and coordinating ladder positioning and roof safety. The roof prop duplicates many of the situations that firemen may encounter while performing ventilation on pitched roofs. Similar exercises abroad involve departments designing roof props with varied pitches (for example, 4/12 and 8/12), cutout panels for recurrent training, and replacement decking to allow safe repeated usage.