Fallen firefighter’s friend champions pitched roof alert system

It has been a long year for Troy Hess as he copes with the death of his friend Matt Burton, who perished while attempting to rescue residents from a burning home.
Hess spends hours tucked away in his backyard shed, a hot, cramped room with a desk, computer, phone and workout set.

In the year since the Contra Costa Fire Protection District captain’s death, Hess has campaigned to ensure such an incident never happens again.

When he learned that a roof addition contributed to the July 21, 2007, fire that killed Burton, fire Engineer Scott Desmond, and two residents at 149 Michele Drive in unincorporated San Pablo, he found his mission. “If I hit a stumbling block, I turn around and look at that,” Hess said, pointing to a photo of Burton holding his young son with the words, “Never Quit” scrawled across the top in ballpoint pen.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Concord man hasn’t quit.

“If I don’t get what I want, I just go through things,” Hess said, with a smile.

Hess has achieved his first goal. As of Jan. 1, when unincorporated Contra Costa homeowners file for permits to add pitched roof additions over their flat roofs, the county building department will alert the fire district. If firefighters respond to a call at that structure, dispatchers will pass along the roofing information. That advanced knowledge can save lives.

west coast 911 news source - contracostatimes.com