Training Opportunity Video- Impress Upon Your Crews the Importance of Early Ladder Placement

I stumbled across this video of a firefighter who found himself in a situation requiring an immediate egress from a second floor window.  Unfortunately, he needed a ladder and “a little help here!”.  Then, almost simultaneously, he appeared at a different window.  Wait- no that’s a SECOND firefighter “needing a little help here.”

Whenever you have interior crews operating, it is imperative to quickly throw ladders to every potential point of egress.  Firefighters operating on the outside have the responsibility to their brothers and sisters inside to provide them with a viable escape option should it be needed.  We don’t have time to play ‘catch-up.’

Ladders are not decorations on your engines and trucks.  Take a look at your ‘burning box.’  Where will your crews most likely need a ladder?  Put one there before you need it.

In the following video should a second ladder have been placed as well?  A third?

Also note what comes out of his lungs as he coughs at 3:50.  What does he need right now?  Does he have it?  Why not?

In this video, we can’t be sure how long the interior operations had been going on.  However, by the time the need for a ladder was finally realized, they had to run and get one, then figure out which of the windows to place their single ladder.

Once again, we have an excellent opportunity to learn and improve based on previous mistakes.  Rather than criticize their actions, revise your own.

Ladder early, ladder often.  Stay stoked!

-J

Also on Fire Daily…

• 360 Burn Size-up of the Fire Web 12/12/09 – December 12, 2009
• If We Do What We’ve Always Done, We’ll Get What We’ve Always Gotten… – April 28, 2010

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