The UK’s tallest aerial ladder will become operational in London later this month.
The Brigade announced plans to upgrade its existing fleet and in July 2017, following the Grenfell Tower fire, it was decided to incorporate three extended height ladder appliances in the upgrade.
The Brigade is the first fire service in the UK to have a 64 metre Turntable Ladder, which is equivalent to the highest ladder in service across Europe. It is one of the many improvements the Brigade has made since 2017 to equipment, training and procedures to enhance the response to high-rise fires and enable firefighters to provide a better service to London’s communities.
The new ladder will be one of three new 64m appliances, which will be strategically placed across London at Dagenham, Old Kent Road and Wimbledon fire stations. These new appliances have three main purposes – to act as a water tower, a rescue tower and an observational tower. They will enhance LFB’s response to a variety of incidents including high-rise fires. Firefighters will, in the first instance, always tackle a high-rise fire from inside a building and try to rescue people using internal fire escape routes. However, these appliances will provide an option – in rare cases - to rescue people from a window or balcony on higher floors and can also pump water to a greater height.
One of the new turntable ladders was bought through the Brigade’s budget and a further two purchased due to a £2.5m donation by Freemasons of London.
London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Richard Mills said: “Over the last few years the Brigade has made numerous changes to improve how we respond to high-rise fires. The introduction of our first 64m Turntable Ladder is an important milestone for us – and UK fire services – in our continued efforts to transform.
“These new appliances will improve our ability to respond to a variety of incidents by allowing us to reach greater heights and will improve our observational awareness. They are fitted with new equipment, such as thermal imaging cameras and can also act as a water tower as they have an internal water pump.
“We’re transforming the service we provide to the communities of London and we want to be at the forefront of new technology and innovation so that we can deliver the best service possible. I am looking forward to all three appliances becoming operational as they will complement the other tools that we have available to help our firefighters do their jobs to the best of their ability.”
The new appliances are much larger than the Brigade’s 32m TLs, however they have steering features incorporated which will allow them to remain highly manoeuvrable and easy to steer through the narrow streets of London.
Firefighters who will operate the new TLs have undertaken new training courses, on top of their existing qualifications and training exercises have been carried out on high-rise buildings. The new appliances have also undergone rigorous testing to ensure they are safe to use. The appliances have built-in technology that will alert the operator if weather conditions, such as wind, are too great to be able to use the ladders safely at their fully extended height.