QUEENSLAND, Australia — A Gold Coast firehouse is determined to keep the tradition of fireman poles alive, remaining the only station in the city to have them.
The Surfers Paradise firehouse is the only station in the city to have poles and just one of two to have them in all of southeast Queensland, according to GoldCoast.com.
Fireman poles have been used since the 1870s to facilitate quicker travel between multiple floors and provide a direct route to the ground floor during emergency calls.
In more recent years, however, GoldCoast.com says fireman poles are disappearing in lieu of single-story stations.
Surfers Paradise commander Mark Gribble believes the poles are a vital part of such a time-sensitive industry.
“The living area of the fire station is upstairs, so to deliver 10 firefighters to the engine bay we need to have two poles rather than have them zigzagging down the stairs,” he said.
Australian regulations have tightened down on the poles, which are required to be enclosed by magnetic gates and can only be used in emergencies, and require a lengthy training on proper sliding technique.
It’s a bit of a different story in the States, reports the Star Tribune, especially for a Minn. Station that, like Commander Gribble said, has kept its fireman poles for their practicality and functionality.
There is always the concern of injuries for inattentive or sleepy firefighters responding to calls, but the speed in which firefighters can get out of a building and into an incident is worth it for pole supporters.
Commander Gribble said he has no plans on having his station’s poles removed after doing a risk assessment and determining the poles contributed to a quick response time.
Surfers Paradise’s fireman poles were installed in 2002 and have been in use since then.