Fire Ladder and Fire Escape

devices designed to bring firemen and their equipment to the upper stories of buildings to fight fires and rescue people. The ladders may be portable or mounted on motor vehicles; fire escapes are permanently mounted.

Portable ladders include folding types (pole ladders), extension types (three-section ladders), and aerial types (hook ladders). A folding ladder opens to a height of about 3 m. An extension three-section ladder is 4 to 5 m long when contracted and extends to a length of about 10 m. An aerial ladder is some 4 m long and has a steel hook used to suspend the ladder from the windowsill of the next higher story. Among the fire ladders mounted on motor vehicles are automotive ladders, which can extend to 16, 30, and 45 m, and elbow-type automatically raised ladders, which can extend to 18 and 30 m. A turntable monitor is set on the upper parts of ladders to supply a jet of water.

Fire escapes are permanently secured to the exteriors of buildings and are spaced no more than 200 m apart on very long buildings. When intended for evacuating people, they are of suitable width and steepness, with intermediate landings provided.

G. I. NOVIKOV