The term apparatus positioning prompts many to immediately think about ladder company positions. Yes, ladder company apparatus positions are important and often are limited by the length of the aerial device and by other obstructions. However, if you ever worked in an engine company, you certainly know that there are many limiting situations that can have a dramatic effect on the location of the pumper.
Aerials
A 100-foot rear-mount aerial arrives at the front of a six-story apartment house with a fire on the second floor. A person is visible at a fifth-floor window, and you want to position the apparatus for the best use of the aerial ladder to that window. What should be lined up with the window in question: the turntable or the tip of the ladder? If there are no obstructions, line up the turntable with the window, so when the ladder is raised, rotated and extended, it will go straight up to the window with both beams on the window sill, which makes for a rapid, safe removal.
Consider a tower ladder with a solid boom and the turntable midship, just behind the cab, and a basket at the tip and a pipe off of the end arriving at that same building and fire condition. What’s lined up with the window to remove the victim: the turntable or the basket? The answer: the basket. With the pipe at the end of the basket, you want to position the basket below the window, so when it’s raised to the window, the corner of the basket will be closest to the window, and the victim can climb out of the window and into the basket. If the turntable is lined up with the window, the ladder pipe will be directly against the building, which will impede or prevent the victim’s access to the basket.
Say you arrive at a three-story wood-frame building with fire issuing from every visible window. The building is more than 100 feet wide and 75 feet deep, and similar buildings are on the B and D sides. The chief wants your tower ladder set up and positioned for the use of the elevated stream. Should the apparatus be set up to achieve the greatest scrub area for stream penetration, in the center of the 100-foot frontage, or should it be positioned at the end of the building at the corner? The best—and in this case, safest—position for this rig is at the corner of the building. With the heavy volume of fire and the decision to use exterior streams, the building stability is or will be in question, and positioning at the corner should keep that apparatus out of the collapse zone.
Pumpers
How about a case in which the first pumper of three to arrive pulls up to a large 2½-story private dwelling with fire showing out of a single window that’s on the second floor front. A hydrant is 200 feet past the front of the house, and the apparatus has two 150-foot 1¾-inch crosslays and two beds of 1¾-inch hose with a nozzle off of the back step. What’s the best position for the pumper for a rapid stretch? The rig should stop with the rear-facing hosebed just past the selected entrance, so the longer line can be stretched. Pulling up to the hydrant would make for a longer and slower stretch. Additionally, other pumpers that respond can lay a supply to or from the first pumper, or a supply line can be hand stretched ahead to the hydrant after the first line is charged and fighting fire.
Battalion car/chief’s vehicle
It’s unfortunate when chiefs are required to stay in their vehicle to command the operation, but in that case, they might have to position their vehicle close enough to the involved building for that duty. If command from inside of the chief’s vehicle isn’t required, park the vehicle out of the way. Pull it up to a driveway or onto a front lawn, but don’t hinder or obstruct the pumpers or trucks.
John J. Salka Jr. | Battalion Chief
JOHN J. SALKA JR., who is a Firehouse contributing editor, retired as a battalion chief with FDNY, serving as commander of the 18th battalion in the Bronx. Salka has instructed at several FDNY training programs, including the department’s Probationary Firefighters School, Captains Management Program and Battalion Chiefs Command Course. He conducts training programs at national and local conferences and has been recognized for his firefighter survival course, “Get Out Alive.” Salka co-authored the FDNY Engine Company Operations manual and wrote the book "First In, Last Out–Leadership Lessons From the New York Fire Department." He also operates Fire Command Training, which is a New York-based fire service training and consulting firm.
