Nick Martin
Great job by Ladder 1 managing some overhead obstacles at a box alarm last week. When dealing with wires or other overhead obstacles, remember that the closer you get the turntable to under the obstacle, the less interference there will be with your scrub angle.
Sometimes this requires a little give to be able to take. Sometimes you have to get a little off the road, or a little close to cars, or whatever.
If you don’t understand the layout of the types of overhead lines from top to bottom and the “communications worker safety zone” - go ahead and do yourself a favor and research that, BTW…
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Here the rig had great access to the roof, scrub of side A of the two floors (our 2nd truck takes side C). And also was able to land the basket easily.
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Being able to land the basket of the tower is critical, especially if you’re dealing with a rescue. If you can’t land the basket quickly, you’ll now have a critically injured fire victim sitting on top of your fire truck - which could be its own rescue evolution.
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I can go to the truck stop and find dozens of guys who can DRIVE the ladder company. Anyone can DRIVE. That’s like 5% of it. The real skill as a ladder company driver is in knowing the rig and being able to position to manage real life obstacles and maximize scrub angles.
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This takes relentless practice. Take advantage of every chance to GET SOME REPS. Checking out the rig in the morning, running an alarm system, running a smoke odor, driving the first due. The more you setup, the better you will get. REPS. 🚒👨🏻🚒🔥✊🏼
