With the exception of some of the larger urban departments such as FDNY, Boston( nobody seems to throw ladders like BFD), Chicago, Baltimore, and Los Angeles City, throwing ladders on a building seems to be a lost art and a second thought. There may be several reasons for this: 1) reduction of true dedicated truck companies - when your assigned to a truck to do truck duties you do truck stuff. Not so much when your on a quint, or your in a smaller department that floats you around between firehouses and companies to cover Kelly days, 2) reduction in staffing - nationwide, as fires decreased and Ems/ emergency calls increased, smaller and medium departments shifted personnel from truck companies to engines and medical rescues - it is very common to see career department staffing ladder companies with just 1 or 2 members and that includes the OIC and LCC. Volunteer departments everywhere are suffering manpower shortages especially during the 7am to 6pm window. 3) reduced training - with all the other skills and missions a fire department now has, less time on ladders to address terrorism, EMS recertification, haz mat, and policy training such as wokeness - in some departments, up to half their documented training is online via leaning management systems (computer). So they sit in front of a computer watching fire training videos and PowerPoints instead of being outside maintain basic hands on firefighting skills 4) the lack of familiarity and training on ladders has brought on a fear of using the larger ground ladders. Many crews are simply non functional in rapidly throwing 35-40 foot ground ladders 5). Regardless of all of the above , a good officer and a good crew will
Find the time and the means to become and remain skillful and adept at sizing up buildings for ground ladder selection, rapidly throwing ladders, practicing various carries and throws for various situations like tight alleys, and moving a ground ladder through stores or townhomes ( like brownstones) to get the ladder to the 3 side). A good volunteer Chief will also make sure that crews practice these skills with different crews on a regular basis. There are volunteer companies in MD and Delaware that throw ladders like baseballs and make it look easy. Career or volunteer you must train all the time. Just my humble little observation and opinion. Stay safe brothers.
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