Stress Test Devised for Ladder Belts
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Recently we read about fire fighters being thrown out of buckets and off ladders because safety belts broke. This raised our concern about our own safety belts.
Many of these belts have been in service since the ladder trucks were first put into service. Some have been in service since 1919. We decided to set up some kind of stress test for our belts.
With encouragement and cooperation from Chief Andy Sedor of the Endicott, N.Y., Fire Department, we checked with belt manufacturers for stress limits of safety belts. They informed us that their minimum standards were approximately 5000 pounds plus. We set up a simple method of testing. Upon testing we found our belts failed at less than 1500 pounds.
We borrowed a line gage (Dillon dynometer) used by the local electric company to pull wires to certain specifications. We then hooked the belts as follows:
- Anchor a round log to tow hook eyes of one truck.
- Wrap belt around log and secure belt.
- Hook a come-along to ring on belt.
- Insert the line gage between the belt and the come-along, which is anchored to another truck’s tow hooks.
- Take up on come-along until pressure is obtained.
Six of the nine belts tested in this manner failed. Leather pulled apart at the rivets and hook rings straightened out. We encourage all fire departments to immediately take a close look at their own safety belts. They may find, as we did, that our “safety belts” really weren’t safe at all.
