Which ground ladder will get the job done?

Around many firehouses, there’s talk of a syndrome that many newer members fall prey to — the 2/20 syndrome. Firefighters who have this syndrome have been in the business for two years, but think they have 20 years of experience. They may have completed basic, and perhaps advanced, firefighting classes and maybe even a basic officer or incident command training program. They have been to a few room-and-contents fires, and maybe even a few incidents where several rooms are on fire or perhaps a commercial occupancy. They think they are ready to take on the world when all hell breaks loose.

Let’s imagine you are this firefighter, in charge of a crew that’s sent to a garden-variety apartment building fire with heavy smoke and fire showing at numerous windows on the first floor of the building. The fire is spreading fast, and numerous occupants are hanging out of windows and off of balconies on the second and third floors. All of them are grateful the fire department has arrived, but they all expect to be rescued at the same time.

So Mr. 2/20, who do you rescue first, and which ladder should you use? Fire is impinging on the second-floor balconies, with just smoke showing at the eaves and one or two third-floor windows. There is a full complement of ladders on your engine or ladder company, but you only have four firefighters on your crew. Your actions immediately upon arrival can mean the difference between life and death for a number of the residents you are responsible for protecting. How will you decide which ladders to take so you can quickly and effectively make the rescues? Do you even remember what size ground ladders you carry?

Take A Simple Approach
As you try to absorb all of this, something flashes through your mind about a2 + b2 = c2 to calculate the size of the ladder needed. Hmmm, how fast can you do that calculation?

At the same time, you remember something about 1⁄4 (or was it 1⁄3 ?) related to how far the ladder should be placed from the building. At this point, every second counts. You know the 35' extension ladder will likely reach all the trapped occupants, but may take three of your four firefighters to properly raise it under these conditions and move it from window to window, balcony to balcony, while people try to jump onto it. This leaves one firefighter to either throw a short ladder or try to keep the people with fire and smoke impinging on their backs calm while you hoof the big ladder into place. While you ponder all of this, the fire victims start screaming louder at you.

Instead of trying to remember all the fancy formulas, take a simpler approach: Choose a ladder with a length that corresponds to the floor you need to reach or the roof immediately above that floor. For example, choose a 14' ladder to reach the first floor (or the roof of a single-story building), a 24' ladder to reach the second floor (or the roof of a two-story building) and a 35' ladder to reach the third floor (or the roof of a three-story building). Remember that for rescue, the ladder only needs to reach the sill of the window or railing of the balcony for an apartment fire. If you need to operate a hoseline into a window, the ladder tip should be placed over the top of the window. If you need to forcibly ventilate the window, a ladder should be raised to the side (preferably the upwind side) and slightly higher than the window you need to work on.

Careful Considerations
In many cases, homes or apartment buildings may be built on slopes, with the second floor on side

A becoming the third floor on side C. You may think the 24' ladder will reach the top floor when looking at the front of the building, but it won’t reach when placed in the rear of the building.

Another consideration involves the length of extension ladders when bedded. Engine companies with shorter wheelbases are likely to be limited to the length of ladders they carry, unless three-section ladders are specified (28' ladders are available with three flies).

Quints also have limited space for carrying ground ladders (as compared to standard ladder companies) and thus may carry shorter ground ladders of unusual sizes. Longer wheelbase apparatus may carry extension ladders (and/or roof ladders) of longer lengths, which may make it difficult to easily access lower floor windows or balconies.

The 28' extension ladder is an excellent choice for a first-out ladder if your area does not have many three- to four-story buildings and you have limited manpower. It’s much easier to handle with two firefighters than a 35' ladder, it will usually reach second-floor windows and roofs of most two-story buildings, and it can be used for rescue purposes from third-floor windows of buildings that don’t have unusual floor heights.

One important question to ask: Do you have a ground ladder longer than 35 feet in your department? How long is this ladder? When was the last time your firefighters took it off the vehicle and practiced with it? Do you have the manpower to raise this ladder at fires?

Longer ladders can come in quite handy in the courtyards of apartment buildings inaccessible to aerials—they may be your only hope of performing a successful rescue. Make sure you are ready to do it.

The only way you’ll know for sure which ladders work is by spending some time preplanning your area and determining heights of various windows and roofs. Roofs with long dimensions from peak to eaves will require longer roof ladders.

Where to Store Ladders
Not only do you need to know which ladder is the right ladder, you must also consider how to store the ground ladders on your apparatus. In the case of the apartment building fire, you must get your extension ladder off the truck quickly. Most standard pumper specifications store the roof ladder on the outboard side and the extension ladder on the inboard side, which will delay you when you need to make multiple balcony rescues.

How often do you see the roof ladder lying against the tire of the engine, where someone left it after they removed it to gain access to the extension ladder? It may even be suffering heat exposure if you have a low-level horizontal exhaust pipe. Solution: Specify or arrange the ladders on your apparatus so the extension ladder comes off first, unless your company prefers to keep the roof ladder on the outside so you can quickly throw to a one-story porch roof or break out a second-floor window.

Also consider your district layout, your alarm assignments and fireground apparatus positioning when determining where to place ladders on your apparatus. The two primary mounting locations for ground ladders are on the side of the vehicle (removal from the side) or in the rear (removal by sliding the ladders out of the back of the truck).

Remember: If you have several narrow streets with apparatus stacking up closely on the fireground, you may not be able to access your ladders if they’re stowed in the rear.

Ground Ladder Specs
Many departments go by basic NFPA or ISO® requirements when specifying ground ladders for new apparatus. As with any major purchase, take some time to think about your district and the use of ground ladders in various situations. Look at the ladders you carry now and what you have readily available from mutual aid companies, and then study which sizes of ladders are available from various manufacturers. Determine their weight and their length when stowed and when in use. Think about why you’re putting these ladders on the apparatus. Figure out which ones you’d likely use first or most often, and make sure they are the ladders your firefighters can remove first from the apparatus.

Conclusion
Ground ladders are one of the primary tools of firefighting. When they’re needed, they’re needed fast. Firefighters must be able to quickly select the right ladder for the job and remove that ladder quickly from the apparatus. They must be intimately familiar with what size/type ladders are where on the apparatus, and be able to rapidly place and raise each ladder for maximum effectiveness. Decisions must be made quickly. The lives of the citizens in your district may depend upon it tonight. Will you be ready?

Greg Jakubowski is a fire protection engineer and certified safety professional with 28 years of fire service experience. He is a Pennsylvania State Fire Instructor and serves as a captain with the Lingohocken Fire Company in Bucks County, Pa. He is also a principal and chief engineer of Fire Planning Associates in Washington Crossing, Pa., a company dedicated to helping fire departments, businesses and municipalities prepare for emergencies.