By Louis Sclafani
Every community and every department across the country is a little different from the other. As a result, aerial manufacturers offer a variety of “trucks” to their customers.
One of the first considerations is the type of aerial that best fits your needs. Is an aerial ladder or elevating platform the truck for you? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each.
- The Aerial “Truck”: Rear-Mounts vs. Midmounts
- Five Common Misunderstandings About Aerial Apparatus
- Conducting a Fire Apparatus Fleet Evaluation
AERIAL LADDER PROS
The most popular aerial device on the market is the aerial ladder. I believe the number one reason for this is economics. Ladders are less expensive than platforms (midship and rear-mount) and, in many instances, this is an overwhelming factor in purchasing decisions, especially in tougher economic times.
Aerial ladders are generally smaller than platforms, which makes them more maneuverable. Being able to work around tight spaces on the fireground and take the best positioning spot is definitely a benefit. Departments with tight or crowded streets would benefit from better maneuverability. If departments are considering purchasing a platform, and turning radius is a concern, consider one with an increased “cramp angle.” Cramp angle is the degree to which the steer tires can turn. The more the tires can turn, the greater the degree of turn angle, which means a tighter turning circle, allowing apparatus to better navigate through tight areas especially in townhouses and condominium complexes or access alleyways
Aerial ladders are also typically shorter in length and don’t have a large bucket extending over the front of the cab. This may come into play when it comes to storing the vehicle in the station. You may have heard of a department that purchased a new vehicle but, once delivered, it wouldn’t fit into the station and had to be parked outside.
Another benefit of a shorter-length truck is in a horizontal master stream fire attack. Shorter trucks can be closer to a building and can swing the shorter boom around in less space than longer trucks. Always remember to size up the building’s condition and collapse potential so you don’t position in a dangerous location.
These trucks may also be shorter in overall height than rear-mount platforms. Many times, a department must take into consideration station height and bay door height, height of overpasses in its response area, and even overhangs to buildings the truck may respond to.
Ladders tend to have a narrower stabilizer stance, especially shorter ladders. The main job of stabilizers is to prevent a vehicle from tipping over. Without a platform and multiple firefighters on the tip, there is less weight on the end of the ladder, which means the width of the stabilizers can be reduced.
Ladders will also have a lower gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and, as a result, a lower gross vehicle weight (GVW) when fully loaded. Lighter-weight trucks will save on brake and tire wear. In fact, lighter trucks may only need a single axle in the rear as opposed to a tandem axle—again, economic reasons to consider an aerial ladder. Operationally, a department may be required to have a truck with a lower GVW if there are weight restrictions on certain roadways, bridges, and culverts in its response area. We typically see these in older areas or private developments with private roads and bridges. Remember, prior to purchasing the apparatus, ensure that the tool and equipment cache you will carry on the rig won’t overload the apparatus. Additional axles can reduce wear and tear on springs and suspensions while increasing brake longevity.
Aerial ladders have less overhang over the front of the cab compared with platforms. Longer ladders obviously have more. However, the “stick” is the only thing over the cab. There is no platform hanging down, potentially obscuring some of the driver’s view. Even the longest ladders that protrude over the cab are less obstructing than rear-mounted platforms.
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1 A small aerial ladder can be much more maneuverable than a platform. (Photos by author unless otherwise noted.)
2 Tractor-drawn aerials (TDAs), or tillers, may be longer than some other aerial ladders but are extremely maneuverable.
AERIAL LADDER CONS
While there are a number of pros to an aerial ladder, there are a number of cons as well. Let’s start with that lower GVWR we mentioned as a pro. It can also be a con because a lower GVWR also means that you have a lower payload capacity, forcing you to carry less equipment. For many departments, the truck carries that one of a kind specialized equipment that may not be needed on every unit, such as extrication equipment. Some of this equipment weighs more than others, so a lower GVWR could really hurt you.
The number one mission of any fire department is to save lives. When it comes to removing victims from the window of an upper floor that is beyond the reach of ground ladders, aerials are our tool of choice. Although it is entirely possible and has been successfully accomplished, rescuing and removing a victim from an upper floor window then down an aerial ladder can be a challenge. Compared with a platform, there are simply fewer rescue options at the tip. If you are lucky enough to have a conscious ambulatory victim that can follow your commands and is healthy enough and not too scared to climb down, you could be fine. But if that victim is scared, unconscious, or nonambulatory, you may have a problem.
If it’s a technical rescue call and you need to use a Stokes basket for victim removal, you again have fewer options than if using a platform, making the operation less secure and less safe.
Whether it is a window rescue, fire attack, tech rescue, roof access, or whatever scenario requires you to travel from the ground to the tip (or from the tip to the ground), you will have to climb the actual ladder. Most firefighters do not have a fear of heights or lack the stamina to climb an aerial ladder; however, many of our victims do. People with these issues really struggle physically climbing up and down a ladder.
Truthfully, window rescues are not that common for most of us—at least not as common as using our master streams for a defensive fire fight. We see master steam operations much more often. Big building, big fire, big water. Aerial ladders that are equipped with prepiped waterways are rated to flow at least 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm). As big as that sounds, it’s not as much as most platforms. So, aerial ladders generally flow lower gpm than platforms.
We also have to be watchful of these waterways when they are located beneath the ladder. Some are able to be stowed in the “rescue mode” behind the fly section, and some aren’t. If the waterway cannot be stowed in the rescue position, it can interfere with placement at a window for rescue. Any time we place a ladder to the roof, the operator must ensure he doesn’t crush the waterway piping on the parapet or roof’s edge.
While we are talking defensive master stream operations, aerial ladders are at a disadvantage if operating above a fire. Imagine being extended over the roof of a large warehouse. You’re flowing 1,000 gpm but the fire below you is really big. The Btus are eating up your gpm faster than you can apply them. As you operate over the fire, all that heat travels upward, cooking you and the tip of your ladder because aerial ladders aren’t equipped with any sort of heat shield like you would find on a platform.
ELEVATING PLATFORM PROS
Now let’s look at the pros and cons of elevating platforms. As you might imagine, many of the pros of an aerial ladder are cons for an elevating platform, and whatever was a con of a ladder is a pro for a platform.
To begin with, platforms are rated with a higher GVWR. Some platforms are in the 80,000-pound range. This generally allows you the option to carry more equipment or that specialized heavier equipment we spoke about earlier.
Platforms provide a safer and more secure work area than aerial ladders. Consider a window rescue, roof operation, or technical rescue call. All are more safely completed with a platform rather than an aerial ladder because we can operate with more rescue personnel in the bucket than at the tip. That nonambulatory, unconscious, scared victim can be placed in the platform and lowered to the ground or removed to another safe area much easier than with an aerial ladder.
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3 Aerial ladders can be found in taller heights than platforms. This aerial ladder in North America measures 137 feet. (Photo courtesy of E-ONE.)
4 Platforms can have multiple master streams flowing greater amounts of water.
5 Higher tip loads allow multiple people in the platform as well as a safe spot to secure a Stokes basket.
The same is true with a Stokes operation. A Stokes basket can be hung from the tip of both an aerial ladder or from the bottom of the platform. Usually, the Stokes can also be placed on the top or side of the platform as well. This allows for a more secure spot for transport. The patient/victim can also be constantly observed and tended to until on the ground. In fact, most platforms provide some sort of attachment or bracket that can be quickly attached to secure the Stokes while in transport.
Another reason working from a platform is safer and easier has to do with tools and lightning options available to you in the platform. Platforms must be a minimum of 14 square feet, with most being larger. There is room to store tools, nozzles, hose, and more. There are also options for electrical and hydraulic outlets as well as lighting options.
Since platforms have secondary movement controls from inside the “bucket,” they can be more precisely positioned at their objectives by firefighters operating these controls up high. Until recently, these secondary controls were only found on platforms, but some new aerial ladder deliveries are now also coming equipped with these secondary controls. Maneuvering a platform from the bucket gives the operator more visibility when getting close to an object vs. operating it from the pedestal. Judging distance to an object a few stories up is difficult, especially in times of reduced visibility. Many newer platforms are equipped with a slow, medium, and fast operating mode, which is either a button or switch that must be manually moved on the bucket control panel or joystick itself.
Platforms usually are rated with a higher water flow capacity. It’s not unusual to see two master streams or a greater gpm rating on a platform. Besides the master streams, platforms have more options for water delivery such as multiple discharges up top for an external standpipe operation or handlines that can easily be extended into an upper-floor window. Platforms are also equipped with a heat shield underneath and a water curtain that flows at least 75 gpm. If operating directly over a fire, this will help protect you and the device from the effects of the rising heat. Always use caution when operating in the bucket directly above or in close proximity to the fire. The convected and radiant heat can affect the electrical and hydraulic lines controlling the bucket. We don’t want to have to rapidly climb down the ladder because we can no longer move the boom out of harm’s way.
The last platform pro we will talk about is the tip load. Platforms typically are rated to have a higher tip load. It only makes sense that this is designed that way. How many people can you put in a platform vs. how many people can be on the very tip of an aerial ladder? Obviously, the platform has to be able to carry that extra weight.
ELEVATING PLATFORM CONS
As good as the pros are for platforms, they do have a number of cons. The first is cost. Platforms are the most expensive piece of equipment a fire department can purchase. As mentioned earlier, the main reason I believe aerial ladders are more popular than platforms is because they are less expensive to purchase. There can be several hundred thousand dollars difference between the two.
As mentioned, platforms are generally heavier than aerial ladders. As a result, they are equipped with more expensive brakes, bigger tires, and many times an extra or tandem axle. Not only is this a greater cost up front, but it carries an increased cost to replace when needed. This is also a problem when traveling over certain roads, bridges, or culverts that have weight restrictions.
Rear-mount platforms are not only heavier, they tend to be taller and longer. This could restrict access to the station, under an overpass, and under building overhangs and possibly require the apparatus floor to be supported. One of the reasons they may be longer is because of the platform that hangs over the front of a rear-mount truck. So, not only is the truck longer and heavier, but you have greater visual obstruction as you look out the front window as compared with an aerial ladder. If your department experiences some of these issues, looking into purchasing a midship platform with a lower overall height can be an option.
These bigger trucks have some additional cons as well. To begin with, you simply lose that maneuverability that we talked about earlier. Platforms are also a little shorter in boom length than aerial ladders. Technically, they could be built higher (in fact, the highest aerial in the world is a platform), but that would require more weight, which in turn would require a wider stabilizer stance. Platforms already have a wider stabilizer stance than aerial ladders because of their increased weight and higher tip loads.
Finally, the last con for platforms is they tend to have smaller water tanks. Why? Once again, it comes back to weight. At 8.34 pounds per gallon, water can take up a considerable percentage of a truck’s weight. Many departments spec their truck to be a quint, which requires a minimum of 300 gallons of water. As a result, we find most platforms carry this minimum amount of water to help keep the weight down.
The pros and cons discussed in this article are generalizations and not absolutes. Various manufacturers build a number of makes and models that address some of these items. Because of new and ever-evolving engineering, some issues may have been overcome more than others, and new pros and cons may surface as a result. Be sure to consider these items when looking for a new unit and inform your salesperson of your wants and needs. If you already have a truck, don’t expect it to perform like your neighbor’s or the one you had previously if it is of a different design.
LOUIS SCLAFANI is a district chief (ret.) and a 30-year veteran of the Pinellas Park (FL) Fire Department and a St. Petersburg College instructor. He spent 19 years as the shift district chief and three years as the training chief. He has an associate of science degree in fire administration from St. Petersburg College.
