Body camera video shows New Jersey firefighter using chainsaw to cut roof open during large fire: news
12-10-2026
Body Camera Video Shows New Jersey Firefighter Using Chainsaw on Roof During Massive Fire
Dramatic body camera and dashcam footage captured the intense moments a New Jersey firefighter operated a chainsaw atop a burning apartment complex to perform emergency roof ventilation during a four-alarm blaze in Middlesex County.
Fast Emergency Response in Old Bridge
The Morganville Fire Department was dispatched shortly after 5:00 p.m. to battle a rapidly spreading four-alarm structural fire at an apartment building in Old Bridge, New Jersey. Mounted cameras atop the responding tiller ladder truck documented the urgent drive through traffic as emergency crews arrived to find heavy flames and thick, dark smoke tearing through the building’s roof line.
High-Risk Roof Ventilation Operations
Upon positioning the apparatus, firefighters extended the aerial ladder directly over the burning structure. Newly released body camera footage shows a firefighter navigating across the ladder onto the active roof carrying a rescue chainsaw.
Working through billowing smoke, the firefighter cut into the decking to open a critical vertical ventilation hole. In structural firefighting, vertical ventilation releases trapped heat, gases, and smoke, improving interior survivability and allowing ground teams to locate the seat of the fire more effectively.
Damage and Operational Milestones
Aerial footage following the incident showed substantial scorch damage across the upper structure. Despite the severity of the four-alarm blaze, the aggressive ventilation and interior attack successfully prevented the flames from sweeping through adjoining apartment units.
Department officials noted the response marked the first working fire deployment for the department’s new ladder truck and their 37th dispatch of 2026. The exact cause of the blaze remains under active investigation by local fire marshals.