By Mark van der Feyst
When checking fire apparatus, inspect every operational piece of equipment on the apparatus to ensure that it is in good working condition. On an aerial apparatus, the ladder itself is a major component of the check. Normally the ladder is set up with the out riggers extended and all safety devices put in place such as pins in the outriggers or all the green lights lit up on the control indicating all outriggers are in place.
Then raise the ladder to about 70 degrees and fully extend it. Rotate the ladder 360 degrees back to its original position. This operational check only verifies a small portion of the aerial ladder.
The aerial ladder should be fully extended horizontally beside the truck at 0 degrees or lower so that we can walk the ladder. Walking the aerial ladder involves walking on top of it to the end and then walking under it back to conduct a visual and physical check of other components.