The weight of an aerial ladder is measured in tons, so the force needed to move any ladder can exceed 100 psi. When you combine the weight and the force while having an unforgiving piece of machinery that does what the operator pulling the handles tells it to; this creates the ladder sections, hydraulics, and cables to have no concern for flesh and bone. Therefore, operators and users alike must adhere to best practices to avoid injury.
“We received a call at approximately 1036 hours to respond with our Quint to a neighboring district for a reported structure fire. I had arrived home at 0830 hours after working the night shift and only had two hours of sleep…The building on fire was a two and a half story wood frame balloon construction home. It was determined that the fire had advanced from the first floor to the attic…The decision was made to switch out the nozzle on the aerial from an automatic fog nozzle to a set of smooth bore stacked tips. I was still locked into the ladder with a belt.
The firefighter operating the ladder on the turntable swung the ladder towards the roadway and lowered it towards the ground so someone on the ground could switch out the nozzles. At this point, the ladder was almost fully retracted at about a negative 8 degree angle. The nozzle was still six or seven feet off of the ground. Once the ladder was lowered to the lowest position, the firefighter on the ground shouted to the firefighter at the turntable to extend the ladder and further lower the nozzle. At this time, I was prone on the ladder (because the attic had fire rolling out of it) awaiting the nozzle switch.
The incident commander decided to switch back to a defensive attack. I did not hear the order to extend the ladder and my feet were between the ladder rungs of two different fly sections. When the ladder was extended, both of my feet…”
Once you have read the entire account of this week’s featured report, consider the following:
1. Does your department permit members to “ride” aerial ladders while they are in motion?
2. If the answer to #1 is yes, will you continue to allow the practice to take place at your level after reading this account?
3. If the answer to #2 is yes, what will preclude this incident from happening to you and/or your crew?
4. Identify at least three factors that contributed to this incident occurring.
5. What would you recommend to your chain of command as actions to prevent a reoccurrence if you were the officer investigating this incident?
Have you experienced a near miss on an aerial ladder? Prevent an injury. Save a life. Submit your account to www.firefighternearmiss.com today.
Note: The questions posed by the reviewers are designed to generate discussion and thought in the name of promoting firefighter safety. They are not intended to pass judgment on the actions and performance of individuals in the reports.
