Short Extension Ladder
These consist of two or three extensions, most modern ladders being made of
metal.
Length: Between 5.5m and 6.7m
Weight: Not more than 24.6kg
Space round to round: Between 280mm and 305mm
They are designed to meet various criteria, including degree of sway when
pitched, overlap, deflection and speed of separation for use as individual
sections.
When a stretcher is not available firefighters can use one section of a short
extension ladder for carrying an injured person. They should ensure they are practiced in this operation and, for the following reasons, the practice should involve the use of a live body:
§ It will teach them to secure the body properly to the ladder; neither a dummy
nor an unconscious person can explain if the lines are too tight or too loose
or the ladder unpadded and uncomfortable.
NOTES
§ A dummy cannot complain if its head or feet are not adequately supported.
§ The weight and posture of a live body will be as at an incident.
§ The manoeuvring of the ladder and patient will have to be more realistically careful, as at an incident.
Improvising a Step Ladder
Occasionally, when firefighters are working inside a building, they need to reach
the centre of a high ceiling or roof. This is difficult with a conventional pitch. A solution to the problem is to make the two sections of a ladder into a step-
ladder. The ladders are extended horizontally on the floor to the required
length, one being extended a round further than the other to allow them to
interlock. They are then lashed securely at the head and spread at the heel. The spread should not be more than 2.5m for nine metre and 10.5m ladders. It may be possible, according to type, to use one section of a short extension ladder as a fixed spreader for a nine or 10.5 metre ladder. The section is passed through the bottom rounds at the base of the spread ladders and the three sections lashed together. If a line is used as a spreader, it should be attached by a clove hitch to about the third round of each ladder. The ladders are then raised with one man footing each.
To make a short step ladder, firefighters should use the sections of a short
extension ladder lashed in a similar way, ensuring the spread is not more than 1m. Usually one man is sufficient for footing.
:lol:
