Understanding The Importance of Fire Rescue Laddering in Fire Fighting Training

• 1 September 2021

Firefighting is a rescue service sponsored by the government and is designed for the protection of land and property from environmental damage. Most often, as the name would suggest, this job entails stopping the damage caused by uncontrolled fires. If you are interested in this job, you are going to need extensive fire fighting training in order to qualify. Fortunately, Emcare is an accredited and trusted institution offering excellent training courses.

Firefighting is a reliable vocation in terms of job security given that firefighters will always be a necessary component of a country’s municipality. The jobs they perform are simply too important. This is especially true in today’s age with the rise in global warming concerns and mass urbanization.

Firefighting is a highly respected and commendable emergency service. This is a job that saves lives and assists in the betterment and safety of the general populace. If you are serious about becoming a firefighter, this article will be of much use to you.

This article will talk specifically about fire rescue laddering which is an essential component of any firefighter’s toolkit. We will be going quite in-depth on this topic, explaining not only what it is but also giving examples of its implementation in the field.

What Will Fire Fighting Training Teach You about Laddering?

During training, prospective firefighters will learn to engage with the tools at their disposal not only physically but theoretically as well. It is one thing to know how a ladder works, it is another to understand how particular usages of this tool can lead to better and more functional outcomes.

When you are responding to a fire emergency in vertical terrain (i.e., a building with multiple floors), time is precious. It is essential the fire workers be on the ball and pre-emptive with the initial setup before entering or scaling the building. What training teaches you is that dispensing ground ladders amongst readily available personnel for them to throw under every window possible is the correct course of action. The sooner access to the higher floors is established, the quicker firemen can enter the structure and the sooner people can begin evacuating.

Knowing to do this as one of the very first actions you take in such a scenario saves time and, more importantly, saves lives. Fire fighting training will teach you that statistical analyses suggest that fire fighters should ensure they carry out this procedure immediately upon arrival at the site.

In a crisis situation, heads need to come together to formulate the most effective method of dealing with the risk. But during this time, it helps to be aware of things we can do instinctively and without a prompt from whoever is in charge in order to further expedite the rescue efforts. By placing ladders along the exterior walls of a structure, you have effectively made numerous new entry and exit points. Additionally, by placing ladders in line with the windows firemen can more effectively ventilate the building.

The Importance of Laddering for Ventilation in Fire Fighting Training

When buildings catch fire, the internal temperature rises quickly which increases the risk of mortality for every individual trapped inside. This heat also makes it difficult to enter a burning building without serious risk of injury. There is also the build-up of smoke within the structure to consider.

This smoke can prove lethal to those inside the building and also severely reduces visibility for the fire fighters as well as people trying to find safe evacuation points. In order for fire fighters to reach deeper into a burning building, they need to drop that internal temperature. They do this by ventilating the structure. Ventilating involves the removal of as much smoke and heat from the building as possible.

An incredibly effective and relatively simple way in which to achieve ventilation is to open all doors and windows from the exterior. This would of course require the usage of ladders. See, laddering is not only useful for accessing elevated spaces but also for making the building safer to enter.

In fire fighting training, fire fighters are taught two methods of ventilating. The aforementioned method is referred to as vertical ventilating. Creating any sort of opening for smoke and heat to exit the sides building falls under this classification.

There is another form of ventilation called horizontal ventilating. This is achieved by accessing the roof of a burning structure and then burrowing through the roof to access the rooms below. Horizontal ventilating is also dependent on the use of ladders in order for fire fighters to access roofs.

By using the ladder – fire fighting’s most accessible tool – these two ventilation techniques can be carried out, thus saving the lives of people stuck inside burning structures as well as making the jobs of firemen entering burning buildings safer and easier.

What Fire Fighting Training Teaches You about the Importance of Ventilation

Getting a burning building ventilated as soon as possible is beneficial for several reasons. As mentioned prior, ventilating a burning building will decrease the temperature and increase visibility within the structure. However, these are not the only benefits to ventilating a building with the help of ladders.

The longer a burning structure goes without being ventilated by trained fire fighting professionals, the more dangerous gases can build up within. This can lead to the occurrences of spontaneous combustion within the structure. Additionally, unventilated spaces during a fire can later lead to backdrafts occurring when people attempt to access these spaces later. A backdraft is an explosion of superheated gases which occurs when insulated burning spaces get sudden access to oxygen.

For instance, opening a door on a burning room with no open windows means you have just introduced oxygen to a hungry fire. The chemical reaction which then occurs leads to a massive explosion that could seriously injure or kill anyone trying to enter the space. If you were to ventilate the space prior by using ladders to access and open the windows, the likelihood of a backdraft occurring is substantially lowered.

What Ladders Are Used in Fire Fighting Training?

Fire fighters have access to an expansive array of tools that make their job easier to pull off, the ladder of course being amongst those most iconic. Firemen have many different ladders at their disposal, each designed to perform specific tasks that any other might not be of use for.

It is essential that any prospective fire fighter know these differences. Firemen must know exactly which ladder to implement when tackling issues that demand elevation. Here are a few examples of the most commonly used ladders in firefighting:

• Collapsible ladders: these ladders typically provide about 10 feet of additional height. The best thing about them is that these ladders can collapse in on themselves, making them incredibly portable. If necessary, these ladders can even be deployed within a burning structure.
• Counterbalanced ladders: Also known as drop-down ladders, these can be used to access lower levels or the ground from an elevated position on a burning building. Such ladders can be used to evacuate people trapped on higher floors and allow firemen to return to ground level.
• Trestle ladders: These are designed in the shape of an “A”, with two beams intersecting at the top. These ladders can be used when a fire fighter needs more verticality but is unable to find a safe surface upon which to rest a ladder.
• Aerial ladders: These are the ladders that are famously affixed to the roof of larger fire trucks. These ladders have extensions on them that can be used to reach the highest points possible

Aerial ladders can be used by firefighting personnel to reach higher altitudes at an angle that gives them more space away from burning structures. These kinds of ladders can also provide a vantage point from where water can be hosed down onto a burning structure.

What Does Fire Fighting Training Teach Us about Handling Ladders?

Ladders will obviously have to be put into place by the firefighting personnel once on site. Communication between squad members is essential in organizing where these ladders should be set up to provide the most help. If you need help carrying a heavier ladder, ensure that you are timing the lifting of the said ladder together. This can be achieved through vocal prompts that are best practiced beforehand during training.

Before you begin lifting, have a look at where you are standing and ensure that you have a solid foothold. Make sure to ensure that you have a strong grip on the apparatus too. When preparing to transport a ladder, fire fighters must bend their knees in whilst keeping their back straight when lifting the apparatus. By doing so, the weight of the ladder is sent to one’s thighs instead of their back.

Unlike muscles of the back, thighs are actually heavy muscles capable of holding heavier weights without risk of injury. Also, the closer you can carry the ladder to your body, the more stable and easier it is to move around. If you lift a ladder with your legs straightened, you are going to send the weight of the apparatus straight to your back and abdominal muscle groups. These muscles cannot handle weight as well as the thighs.

Muscular injuries can occur more often when ladders are lifted with toes pointed outward. Thus, it is recommended during training that personnel lift with their toes pointed inward. Simple tips such as this can drastically decrease the risk of injury whilst on the job.

What Else Can You Learn through Fire Fighting Training?

The training courses through which aspiring fire fighters much go in order to wear the badge cover many essential bases. This is obviously inclusive of emergency medical treatment (EMT) for use when recovering and ensuring the safety of fire victims.

Fire fighters are taught how to use high-pressure fire hoses. Despite how easy it may look from the outside; those hoses are incredibly heavy and difficult to aim when active. Typically, a fireman’s hose is capable of producing 250 PSI of pressure.

During training, basic human biology is studied alongside the effects of what fire, smoke, and other hazards can do to our anatomy. Fire fighters should know how to conduct CPR and administer basic first aid. There are also other specialized tools such as the “jaws of life” that fire fighters must learn how to use.

Contact Emcare for Professional Fire Fighting Training Courses

If it is your dream to become a public servant dedicated to fire rescue, we applaud your selflessness. We would also like you to consider reaching out to our reputable company if you are interested in top-quality fire fighting training. Emcare is one of the most esteemed Health and Safety training companies in all of South Africa.