Aerial Placement for Maximum Effectiveness

摘要

No matter the size of the department or the type of community served, the primary reason for placing the aerial in a particular place on a fire scene is exactly the same: effectiveness. Every department desires the most effective use of its device at each incident. Three factors impact the effectiveness of a device at a given scene: design, placement, and stabilization. This article addresses the positioning of the aerial for maximum effectiveness. Placement of the aerial ladder on the fireground receives less attention than it should in most texts. In many cases, the topic is framed from a very limited perspective and lacks the versatility the real world requires. This approach to the subject results in-many apparatus operators answering the question, "Where should the truck be positioned?" with the vague answer, "The front of the building." This response is too general. The practice of having the truck take the front of the building originated in larger municipalities, where the first aerial devices were put through their paces. In those districts, the only side of the building accessible to the aerial most times was the front of the building, and the front gave the device the best possible scrub area (photo 1). This standing practice has since been applied to all types of municipalities as the use of aerial devices has spread.