Tower Ladder with Multi-Purpose Capabilities

By Bill Adkins

Tower ladders are well-known for flowing copious amounts of water. The platform makes an excellent spot for two firefighters to flow two to three nozzles at a time. When thinking of tower ladders, many don’t reference their great ability to perform rescues, engine operations, and the ability to carry a vast amount of equipment. Training the crew to be proficient with the capabilities of the tower ladder is to be an ongoing task. A task that can be rewarding when hearing command say on the radio to leave room for the tower.

Flowing Big Water

Of course, we can’t discuss tower ladders without mentioning their ability to flow water. It is not uncommon to see one flowing close to, if not more, than 2,000 gallons per minute (GPM) on a fire scene. When training your crews, have a couple of different sequences and assignments for each member to minimize set-up time. For instance, if you arrive on a defensive fire the crew will need to assist the operator with water supply and the outriggers to have the ability to get the bucket in the air and flow water quickly. When arriving first due on an offensive fire, the tower can operate as an engine first, tower second; this allows the crew members to concentrate on hose deployment instead of setting up the outriggers right away. Keep in mind, if flowing big water don’t hesitate to establish a second water source coming to another intake of the tower ladder; this allows the pump and engine to operate at a lower RPM with the capability of continuing to flow large volumes of water.

Rescues from the Tower

With proper training, performing rescues from the building can be just as easy from a tower ladder as it is on a straight stick. Sometimes victims are severely terrified of heights and talking them down a ladder can be challenging. Proper placement of the tower bucket can make for a seamless transition from the building to the bucket—allowing the patients to become more comfortable in an uncomfortable situation.

If the victim is conscious, bring the floor of the bucket even with the floor of the room in the building. This allows them to step over the window sill and onto the floor of the bucket. If the victim is unconscious and rescuers are assisting the patient out the window, then bring the top of the bucket even with or slightly below the window sill. This allows the rescuers to bring the patient out and into the bucket. When using stokes baskets, most tower ladders will have brackets to hold the basket in place. If no brackets are present, securing the basket to the top rails of the bucket proves to be sufficient.

Keep the tower ladder in mind as a tool for water rescues as well. Anytime you can prevent putting anyone in the water, it’s a win. If the victim is within reach of the tower ladder, the bucket can be used as a highpoint to pickoff anyone in need. Rescuers should still be in full water PPE and don’t forget the life jackets for the victims.

Engine Company Operations

Most tower ladders are equipped with a pump and water tank. If so, when arriving first due, depending on your department SOPs/SOGs, the tower ladder can become an engine first, ladder second. This allows the crew to make an interior attack as if it were an engine company. Again, this article is about the capabilities of the tower ladder, not necessarily the operations of your particular department.

Equip your tower ladder with the equipment needed to accomplish the tasks of an engine company until an engine arrives. Although a tower ladder may not carry as much hose as your typical engine it usually has a good complement to get crews started. If your department finds itself in this situation often, then additional hose packs in a compartment may be needed to accomplish the goals of an engine company.

Compartment Space

Usually tower ladders have an abundance of compartment space. This is where we can get creative with what equipment we want on it. Take a look at the dynamics of your coverage area. What equipment do you need? Does this tower ladder have the possibility of making a lot of auto accidents? Do you have the need for rope rescue equipment in your area? Etc.

We can’t always rely on specialty vehicles to arrive for help. They may be unavailable due to other calls or maintenance. The tower ladder gives us that chance to be versatile with our equipment. You will never have an apparatus that “has it all,” but we can have an apparatus that can get us started on just about any incident that is thrown our way.