Click here to read Steve Speer's article "Step Up" from
the June 2007 issue of Fire Rescue Magazine.

WHY TEST & INSPECT OUR LADDERS?  WE NEVER USE THEM.  Hose, pumps, air packs, bottles, vehicle inspection, physicals, extinguishers, power tools – check this, inspect that.  Anyone check the ladders?  Yes, they’re on the truck.  But wait a minute – just imagine this….

 

“Fire Dispatcher to Base – We have a report of a fire with people trapped on the 2^nd floor.  Be advised that we’ve received several calls on this.”

 

Now, what is your goal?  To GET THE VICTIMS OUT FAST!!!  Right?  Okay, your apparatus arrives at the scene and off comes the ladders – the same ladders that haven’t been off the apparatus in how long?  Your guess is as good as mine.

 

Let’s take a little detour here for a minute – Did you ever have something mechanical that you didn’t use in a long time?  What happened when you went to use it?  Did you have to work on it for an hour to “get it going” before you could get the thing to work?  Guess what?  Ladders are no different – they too have mechanical parts that need to be kept clean and in good working order. 

 

Ladders load up with a special substance – especially during the winter.  We at FIRE SERVICE SAFETY TESTING (FSST) call it “Road Crap”.  This substance is made of a mixture of sand, salt, dirt and water.  It can:

 

   Make pulleys not turn

   Dogs stick into the housing

   Rot halyard ropes

   Gum up roof hooks

   Corrode your ladder.

 

WHEN DO THE LADDERS NEED TO BE TESTED?  Pursuant to the NFPA 1932 Chapter 5 standards, the inspection should be done on an annual basis or more often if a ladder has been structurally compromised. 

 

Avoid these traps – CALL US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION

Ø      we never use our ladders;

Ø      they haven’t been off the truck in a long, long time;

Ø      we have a small department;

Ø      it’s not in the budget;

Ø      I asked – they told me no;

Ø      we’re getting rid of this truck soon anyway;

Ø      I’m afraid you’re going to break my ladders.

 

Back to our reported fire.  Because your ladders have been maintained and inspected regularly, they perform as expected and the rescue is successfully completed.  Nothing gives your department more recognition than saving lives.  That’s why we do what we do. 

Fire Service Safety Testing, Inc.

270 Huffer Road

Hilton, NY 14468

Phone 585-392-7373

Toll free 866-788-7373

E-mail: info@testladders.com