The Understaffed Ladder Company
I would like to first admit that I am not a writer or teacher, I am just a fireman who loves going to jobs and have learned a few lessons, some harder than others, along the way.
I’ve been a fireman over the past 17 years, both career and volunteer status and have been lucky enough to learn the job from great senior firemen who took the time to show me every single detail to perfect my craft.
Those men, some retired and some still working, know who they are…Not only have I had mentors show me “the way," but my father, too, rode a ladder company and I watched him do everything from opening a roof to being a chief.
My earliest memories of him include him being the chauffeur of a 1968 Seagrave mid mount aerial that was louder than a freight train, the exhaust system, or lack there of, was sent straight from hell and everyone loved it.
Cleaning tools, search procedures, forcing doors, and throwing ladders… it’s all imperative and makes the difference between an average load, and a balls to the wall fireman.
The word understaffed, in my opinion, is not an excuse to not get your job done at a fire. I work on a department that has one ladder company, which is understaffed. I also volunteer on a fire department that has one ladder company.
Guess what, civilians DO NOT CARE when they are trapped in a fire that we are understaffed. We have to make due! I did not reinvent the wheel, but have listened to great senior firemen share their knowledge and tips along the way on how to get the job done.
SPLIT THE CREW
Officer, Chaffeur, Outside Ventman, and Ironsman. The Officer and Ironsman work together to complete both force entry and search. The outside Ventman (OVM) and Chauffeur (LCC) complete the outside work (ladders, roof, windows, etc.)
Having only one ladder company with 4 firemen means a lot of tasks will be done solo. It isn't freelancing, it is what needs to be done. If we commit the entire crew to the inside or the outside of the fire building, a lot of the ladder company work will either not get done or not get done in a timely fashion.
Remember, getting the roof opened should be an offensive tactic not something done during overhaul. Taking windows should be done as water is filling the line, not after the fire has long been out, or not too early before water is on the way.
LADDERS, THROW LADDERS, ALL OF THEM-
Be proficient in throwing ladders - BY YOURSELF. Thats right, by yourself. For a structure fire the outside vent, and chauffeur can split and throw ladders to each side of the building getting the job done faster.
Civilians and firemen need a quick escape, they need ladders thrown immediately to the SILL. Read that again, TO THE SILL.
We can argue all day that throwing a ladder alone is hard to do and dangerous but the civilian hanging out of the window screaming for her life can really care less about any of that. They need help, and need it fast.
If you train on throwing ladders alone constantly you can get them up just as fast as if you had 2 or 3 people. Am I saying this is right? - NO, but in a lot of places you do not have a choice, so adapt, and train on it!
Too many people are trained on tactics in the best case scenario, with proper manpower. Unless you are a very large fire dept. (more than 2 trucks) chances are you are understaffed and behind the 8 ball from the start.
Six years ago as a member of a volunteer Fire Department in NJ at around 4 am we were dispatched for a fire. We were a 3 man ENGINE company. Boss, Chaffeur, and Nozzleman.
On arrival we found a garden apartment style complex with one apartment involved in fire on the first floor with numerous civilians trapped above. The fire apartment door was chocked open by a couch that was attempted to be pushed out of the apartment by a civilian.
This made the interior stairs to the 2nd floor impossible to go up. Our first due truck was out of service and our 2nd due truck was coming from another city.
The boss grabbed a 14’ straight ladder and went for the victims adjacent to the fire. I grabbed a 24’ extension ladder and went for the civilian directly above the fire.
In total 4 civilians including a child were rescued. As the rescues were happening the chauffeur stretched the line and the 2nd due engine knocked down the bulk of the fire. We were grossly understaffed and we got it done!
Are we heroes? Absolutely - NOT . We did our job. We did what we swore we would do. What we signed up for. We trained on ladders constantly until it was second nature even though we were an engine company, so at 4am with people hanging out windows it was no big deal. It is our business.
It’s jobs like this that you learn from. It’s jobs like this that remind you to keep on training on ladders by yourself because one day you might not have a choice.
IRONS/SEARCH
As an ironsman (barman some of you call it) be proficient in forcing doors by yourself just like ladders. Learn every type of lock, door, and challenges you will have to face. Train on forcing doors constantly! I am lucky enough that my dept. bought 2 different door props, but prior to that I took classes at fdic, traditions training, etc to perfect the skill.
Know your halligan tool inside and out. It’s every part (forks, crotch, shoulders, shaft, adze, neck, and pike). Keep it cleaned and sharp along with your 8lb flathead axe. Know how to, and when to use your hydraulic forcible entry tool. A quick side note on the hydraulic forcible entry tool (rabbit tool)- This tool is NOT there as an excuse to not be proficient in conventional forceable entry!
Learn how to use your force entry saw and be able to troubleshoot/repair it. These are your tools, take pride in them , they may save your life or someone else’s. Practice your departments search procedures.
Practice searches with your facepiece blacked out. Learn the feel of furniture / beds through your gloves. Learn the feel of a body with your firefighting gloves on.
Being an ironsman requires that you need to have your gear on, and on properly. That means firefighting gloves, hood, scba, etc. When its time to pop the door and the only people doing the primary search (ahead of the line) are you and your boss, you better have your act together and be ready to go. You don't want to be the guy struggling to get a glove on or missing your hood.
All of these things make a difference in the speed and efficiency of getting the primary search done and removal of a victim under fire conditions. Train on putting your hood on while wearing firefighting gloves. Get rid of the glove straps/holders. The gloves belong on your hands, ready to work!
Being on an understaffed ladder company means you most likely will not have a can man. Consider bringing a can in with you along with the irons especially in an OMD where water might be delayed.
CHAFFEUR/OVM
The outside ventman and ladder company chauffeur (OVM, LCC) should be the more experienced and senior members that can read buildings, able to identify construction classes, able to identify windows that are to bedrooms/ other key areas where civilians may be trapped, and able to vent enter and search (VES). They should be proficient in forceable entry because they will come in contact with window bars, roof doors, scuttles, etc.
The OVM and LCC should be well trained in opening roofs both flat and peaked. Once the OVM and/or LCC get the roof opened they must report conditions to the IC (Chief). An experienced IC will know that the true read on the conditions of the the structure come from the roof.
Keep in mind that you might not know what type of building construction you are working with until you open the roof. You might open the roof and stick your hook down into the cockloft area and hear a PING not a thud. The ping is the sound of your metal hook hitting the parallel chord truss.
This is an example of key moment and definitely an urgent message to command that we are operating in a truss building. An urgent message because it MIGHT change the tactic of the fireFIGHT.
Quick side note on opening a roof with 2 Firemen. Do not be on top of one another, do not BOTH be close to the saw. Once the saw is running at full rpm you cannot hear your radio anymore. One fireman stand back and monitor the radio, once the cut is complete then go in and start hooking (pulling roof materials up and pushing ceiling down).
A key message (urgent, mayday, evacuate, etc )might come across the radio which you will not hear once the saw is at full rpm. The OVM and LCC should be able to identify hazards on the roof, roof door removal (for victims and vent) and, roof rope rescue if need be.
Another huge part of having firemen outside is being able to complete a 360 degree size up. We need to get eyes on all sides of the fire building especially the rear. In some instances you will need to complete a 360 degree size up from the roof. Whether it is the ladder company or another company , someone needs to get eyes on all sides of the fire building to check for victims and/or fire that may not be seen from the street.
The chauffeur should know every limitation of the rig and able to spot the rig in the best position to access windows and the roof. Constantly practice on setting up your rig. A lot of the newer rigs are more complex and require a ton of muscle memory to set up. Some aerial ladders have pre-piped waterways that make things tricky unless you train on it over and over again.
On runs that are not fires you should be setting the jacks and be in position to ladder the building if need be. Learn how to safely short jack your rig. Learn how to ladder a window with your aerial/tower for victim removal. Learn how to vent a window with your aerial properly.
When you are understaffed, be one step ahead not behind. Treat every run like its a FIRE .
The bottom line… be a student of the job. Read NIOSH reports , ESPECIALLY if your fire department was unfortunate enough to have a LODD. Guys paid in blood for the lessons we have learned today.
BE READY. Keep your head in the game at all times, especially on typical runs that you might not think is a job. Listen to the radio, again LISTEN to the radio. Mayday messages come through broken up and most times almost unreadable.
This is usually the part of the article that people say “be safe”, nope I'm not writing “be safe”, that would be foolish in my opinion.
This is a dangerous job and we all need to accept that, train harder, and cherish the brotherhood a little more.
Thanks for reading - Mike
Never forget 7/1/88 #1177 Hackensack N.J.