BY DOUG DAHLGREN
Fire and rescue units arriveat a nighttime emergency scene; police are already there to assist. After a time, the emergency is addressed-firefighters extinguish the fire, EMTs treat and transport the victims, and the immediate crisis is over.
But even when the immediate crisis is over, potential danger is still present. These scenes still require cleanup and investigation. At night, maintaining safety is more difficult.
For decades, quartz light fixtures mounted on emergency vehicles provided the lighting at nighttime incident response and investigation scenes. Although such fixtures are certainly an adequate lighting solution, their limitations are obvious in comparison with portable light towers.
Using standalone light towers at remote sites is not new, but it is a relatively new trend in the emergency services.
MOVE IT OR LOSE IT
The lack of mobility and flexibility for truck-mounted light units is clear. It is not often feasible to maneuver a fire engine, ladder, or other vehicle into the correct position to provide the desired lighting. Portable towers, however, offer maneuverability and quick placement where needed (photo 1).
 Photos courtesy of Allmand Bros., Inc. |
Moreover, the vehicle-mounted lighting units themselves cannot be moved; mobility is limited and depends on that of the vehicle on which it is mounted. Mobility becomes moot when the vehicle supporting the unit is gone.
If another emergency that requires the lighting vehicle to leave the current scene arises, the cleanup and investigation crews could literally be left in the dark. On the other hand, keeping a $500,000 piece of apparatus at a scene for lighting could be anything from a minor inconvenience to a major dilemma. In some cases, a firefighter and a truck might remain at a site for several hours during a police investigation. In other cases, the same firefighter and truck may be unable to respond quickly to the next emergency if tied up with lighting duties at an important scene. However, a portable light tower could fulfill the lighting function for hours on end without detaining personnel or apparatus urgently needed elsewhere.
Portable light towers can remain at an incident scene all night long without any fire department support, operating under their own power without an outside power source. If lighting an investigation scene, the police could bring a tower back to the fire department when it is no longer needed, or the device could be picked up the next day. This flexibility alone is a compelling reason for the fire and rescue services to seriously consider portable light towers.
MORE LIGHT
Improvements in technology offer additional advantages to using a portable tower. With fixture technology advancements, some portable light towers can generate up to five times the light output of conventional quartz fixtures while using the same amount of energy. Such fixtures may take two to three minutes to reach full intensity. With this in mind, some towers include a 500-watt quartz fixture that instantly lights up the scene while the primary fixtures warm up (photo 2).
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Portable towers’ increased lighting capacity and maneuverability also eliminate dark spots. Structures often obstruct available light from truck-mounted lights, resulting in dark, unlit areas that create trip and fall hazards and even more serious problems. Easily moved to the appropriate locations at the scene, portable light towers at the same time provide a far greater level of illumination, providing virtual daylight at night.
In addition to the light intensity, the fixtures also provide illumination for a very large area. At accident calls on freeways and other busy roads, traffic is sometimes allowed to pass through. Portable towers can light up to two city blocks in some cases, providing responders and passersby with the necessary light to avoid danger.
BE PREPARED
Although many fire departments may have rented or borrowed portable light towers from time to time, more departments are realizing the direct benefit of owning their own towers. Fast emergency response time is invaluable, and lighting can be a decisive factor in a rescue operation’s success or failure. Having towers readily available when emergencies occur is far more practical and beneficial than tracking them down when needed.
Some departments may not feel they need to purchase one or more portable towers because they respond to relatively few incidents requiring additional light. However, a portable light tower is also useful in nonemergency situations, such as nighttime training sessions (photo 3).
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Volunteers comprise the majority of many departments’ firefighters and work at full-time jobs in the daytime. Hence, it’s difficult to arrange daylight training for such members. Nighttime training becomes a must, and a portable light tower is exactly the tool needed to accommodate these sessions. In addition, the police or state patrol can also use a light tower while conducting an accident reenactment or other investigation.
OPERATION
The benefits of a portable light tower are apparent once it is on the scene. Fortunately, transporting and deploying the tower are not difficult. Personnel require only a brief training period to understand how the unit works; from that point, operation is really simple.
Since most units are basically a two-wheel trailer, they can be easily towed behind an SUV or a pickup truck. On arrival, the tower is first moved to the desired location. Outriggers are deployed to stabilize the unit before the light tower is raised. To save time, an engine generator can be turned on to begin powering up the lights at the same time the tower is being set up. The process takes about three to five minutes.
ADDED POWER BENEFIT
As a bonus, portable light towers can also act as standby generators to provide power at the scene. Some light towers designed specifically for the fire and rescue industry are outfitted with automatic voltage regulated (AVR) generators. Unlike capacitor-regulated generators, AVR generators offer enhanced reliability by stabilizing the flow of electricity through the unit to provide consistent, regulated power.
An AVR generator can power fans, light stands, and other emergency equipment. With a portable light tower on-scene, there’s no need to bring in a separate generator. With a variety of models to choose from, a larger unit can also act as an emergency generator for the fire station during a power outage.
Portable light towers are still priced competitively and in some cases are even less expensive to buy. They are also cost-effective, consuming an average of one gallon of fuel for every two hours of operation. The illumination these fixtures provide is still stronger than similar technology now available on truck-mounted units. And again, towers will always be maneuverable.
Portable light towers have proven to be an effective tool for those departments that have used them. Unfortunately, many departments are still unaware of the technology. As information spreads, a department will be able to weigh the benefits of portable lighting equipment in an effort to ensure each nighttime emergency goes smoothly and safely.
Doug dahlgren is the product manager for Allmand Bros., Inc, a portable light tower manufacturer in Holdrege, Nebraska.
