Close Call for RI Firefighters as Tower Ladder Struck by Roof Collapse

Providence firefighters had a very close call at a house fire this past Saturday when their tower ladder was damaged in a partial roof collapse.

“It was seconds or mere minutes from when they stepped off that bucket into that window until that portion of roof collapsed in the bucket. So had things been different, had they remained in the bucket, had they operated from the bucket … they would have been injured and possibly something worse,” Chief Derek Silva told WPRI.

“When it was extended in the air, that roof came down into the bucket and effectively turned the inside of this bucket into a fire pit,” the chief said adding that the controls and cables in the bucket melted. 

Tower Ladder One, worth about $1.4 million, was put into service in 2021. The extent of damage is being determined. 

Providence has another tower ladder.