Positioning Mid-Mount Towers on the Fireground

By Ricky Riley

Tower ladders, towers, ladder towers, aerial towers—whatever you call them—are all aerials that serve a purpose on the fireground when positioned correctly. These rigs are some of the most expensive pieces of apparatus you can purchase. Just a few years ago, we thought that $1 million was outrageous for a tower ladder. Now they can cost more than $2 million. With a price tag like that, members of the company had better know how to get it in position—and positioned correctly—to do the job that the fireground dictates.

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• Tower Ladders: Positioning Tips and Techniques
• Forcible Entry from the Tower Ladder

While towers are special rigs with some operational advantages compared to straight ladders, they both require trained and competent chauffeurs/operators who take pride in their ability to properly get that expensive and critical piece of apparatus in the right spot. This article will cover some operations and positioning of the mid-mount tower ladder. A lot of the information applies to rear-mount towers and regular ladder trucks as well.

History and Design

A functional and valuable tower starts with its design and specifications. To date, undeniably the most proficient tower ladder design was completed by the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). Those original rig designs from the 1960s and 1970s, which were battle tested and proven, still live on in the current rigs that the FDNY purchases and so many of us emulate in our tower designs. FDNY purchases with a focus on the mid-mount design with little obstructions in the way of a below-00 deployment and with a vast sidewalk sweep potential as well an above-grade deployment reach. These attributes are the core functions of a true tower ladder.

Conversely, mid-mount designs sacrifice compartment space between the turntable and rear of the rig and eliminate obstructions amid the turntable and the cab. Even if your rig requires more compartments or equipment obstructions, an experienced and well-trained chauffeur/operator can still achieve a respectable scrub area with good positioning.

Chauffeur Responsibility

Training for the chauffeur/operator should begin with factory training from the rig’s manufacturer. This information will help the chauffeur/operator fully understand how all the levers and buttons work and the systems that make the tower work in the first level of operation. They will learn what to do if they need to go to an emergency power unit (EPU) or second level of operation, which both require paying close attention to the apparatus and the boom, as almost all safety features and crush zone programming are not available, and there is the chance the operator may damage the apparatus and jeopardize the safety of personnel. Almost every placard, warning label, and pictogram displayed on the rig has a story behind it where the apparatus was used incorrectly and caused injuries or death to personnel. So it is important to pay full attention and heed these warning labels.

Once the tower is in the firefighter’s hands, it is now the chauffeur’s/operator’s responsibility to fully understand the rig and learn the feel of the apparatus while responding, positioning, and operating. This feel comes from constant repetitions and equipment checks. Any chance you get to operate the tower and understand the controls; the feel of the boom; and, more importantly, the deescalation of the boom as it get near objects will only make you better on the fireground when you have time constraints in critical situations. Luckily, many of today’s apparatus are equipped with controls that allow three speeds: slow or creeper, medium, and fast, which allow easier control of the boom.

Driving the apparatus is a monumental responsibility for the chauffeur/operator. The weight, length, and width of towers require a skill set that has to be practiced and trained on with diligence and dedication. These massive rigs take up road space and require a keen sense of knowing where the front bumper is and where the rear swingout is going to go while making turns. When ordering a rig, many departments ensure that they have front marker bumper poles and rear flexible marker lights installed to help the chauffeur/operator judge the apparatus while maneuvering it. Because of its size and weight, the tower’s stopping distance can be very great and is nothing like engines or any other apparatus we drive. So, you also have to put time and effort into perfecting your driving skills.

Importance of Positioning

Understanding the importance of positioning a tower or any aerial apparatus is the first step in successful operation. Proper positioning enables master stream use to extinguish the fire, which can help save a civilian’s or a firefighter’s life. Being in the right spot on the fireground should not be due to luck but rather due to the chauffeur’s/operator’s preparation, practice, and anticipation. There are many firefighters who can drive a tower, but there are very few tower drivers. Those tower drivers dedicate the time to their craft in all aspects of the rig’s operation and positioning. It takes personal commitment and pride in doing the job right and always striving to make yourself a better operator.

Here are a few more skills that can help you position better on the fireground:

Learn your response area—not just what Siri or Google Maps says, but know the streets, buildings, and complexes. When you hear the dispatch address, picture the area around the building and start to think about your response route and any street or alley that might give you a good position for your tower. This knowledge should extend past just your first-due response area into your second-due truck area or even second-alarm territory. Get out and ride these areas during drill time or even while out doing errands or administrative tasks. You never know where or when you could be called to these areas. Seeing the streets and buildings will help you get that right spot.

Always be tuned to the radio, especially the fireground channel. Listen to how companies are positioning and plan a route into the scene based on direction from the incident commander or your department’s standard operating procedures. As you get closer to the scene, slow the rig down and look at the streets before you commit to a corner or block. See how other rigs are parked and look at where you can fit to get the most advantageous position for the assignment.

Look for hazards that could hamper positioning, such as the following:

• Wires and poles.
• Trees and tree branches.
• Building features.
• Building setbacks.
• Civilian vehicles.
• Fire department apparatus/vehicles.
• Street width.
• Sidewalks.
• Manholes.
• Street grates.
• Terrain.

Getting in the Block

After you get into the block and have room to set up, you now have to focus on a number of rig-specific items that will affect your position and how you plan to operate now and during the duration of the incident. First, what is the immediate need of the tower—rescue, master stream operations, or a combination of rescue and fire attack? All these require you to possibly set the apparatus up in a number of different positions and angles. Consider whether you are positioning the basket or the turntable. All these setups require the operator to perform size-up to decide where to place the rig.

• Look at the structure (size, shape, height).
• Look at the fire’s location and direction of travel.
• Look at victim location.
• Look at possible victim locations.
• Decide how much of the building you can cover.
• Determine where the smoke is going, which can hamper visibility or be a sign of a smoke explosion.

Positioning the Jacks

Before placing the basket or the turntable, first put out the stabilizers. Depending on your rig’s manufacturer, the jack spread can be anywhere from 14 to 18 feet of landing zones. You will need to get the stabilizers in position and the correct pressure on the ground to support full function, reach, and rotation of your tower.

There are tools to help you ensure proper jack setup and placement. New technology involves cameras mounted where the stabilizers go out and down that can display inside the cab so you can get the proper rig position before you even get out of the cab. This is a fairly new option on apparatus. Just keep in mind that if an apparatus is covered in snow, ice, or road salt, the camera’s lens may be obscured, and you must use another means of spotting the stabilizers.