Fire Engines Photos

F28 were fitted with 135 ladders when the wheeled escape was removed from them…I done my HGV driving test in one of them

Added by Geoff Johnston on 25 September 2025.

It seems that the “gut buster” 13.5 metre ladder was not a much loved replacement for the traditional 15 metre wheeled escape ladder. I suspect the main reason was its weight. Although 12 and 15 meter ladders were already widespread in Germany and France, these weighed only 75 kilograms, and were much lighter and easier to work with than the Merryweather and Lacon 13.5 meter ladders - which weighed between 100 and 120 kilograms. While the wheeled escape was easy to deploy quickly even if its full extension was not always needed, the 13.5 took the entire crew several minutes to set up, and crews tended to always use shorter and more manageable ladders unless they absolutely really needed the extra length of the 13.5.

Now it seems some brigades have dropped the 13.5 altogether, because it was so rarely used, and rely instead on the two section 9 meter extension ladder alone. This seems fine, but does raise the issue of the availability of aerial ladders, towers or platforms, to deal with incidents involving buildings over 9 meters. As mentioned frequently on this site, these are much less often available than in most other countries. The old wheeled escape, originally 40 feet long, then most often 50, but occasionally 55 or 60, was a standard feature for well over a century, and - especially in its later steel versions - was a tried and tested tool which worked very well and made aerial backup less of a necessity than it has now become.

Added by Rob Johnson on 26 September 2025.

My career started on a station with a Pump Ladder; the Ladder being an aforementioned "gut buster". It could perhaps also be described as "a traditional wooden wheeled escape without the wheels"! I later transferred to a station with a Pump Escape; the Escape being a Merryweather 5O foot steel version. For those who have had the privilege of working with Escapes, what a difference, a joy to work with. In extremis, and with good ground conditions to manoeuvre the escape, the steel version could be slipped and pitched by two experienced hands. When done normally in line with best practice and a crew of four, you had to temper enthusiasm and be careful on slipping steel escapes. Being much lighter, if you were overly zealous, it could bounce and rock back on its carriage as it left the appliance mountings and land on the ground. Handling steel escapes was almost too good to be true, certainly when compared to the traditional wooden versions, and most definitely the "gut buster".

Added by Keith Richardson on 28 September 2025.

Thanks Keith! Your experience confirms what I have been told by numerous other British firefighters with experience of all three of the ladder types you mentioned. Most confirm that the “gut buster” was so difficult to deploy that crews actively avoided using it unless they absolutely needed to. What I do not really understand is why brigades did not buy much lighter weight imported 12 and/or I5 metre ladders, as they were readily available and much easier to work with. After all, brigades in many cases were quite happy to buy imported Metz, Magirus and even Camiva TTLs.

Added by Rob Johnson on 30 September 2025.

The DIN standard for a three section aluminum 15 metre fire service heavy duty ladder, designed to support the weight of three adults, is 78.5 KG, which is less than 70% of the publicized weight of the current Lacon 13.5 metre fire ladder. It sounds to me that German - and other countries’ firefighters who use DIN standard equipment - are getting more for less! In addition to bring more manageable, the DIN 15 metre ladder is so much lighter that it is always transported on top of the pumper body, which saves a lot of space, rather than needing a sloping runway like the old pump escape design.

Added by Rob Johnson on 03 October 2025.

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