Whilst I agree with you to some extent that we are becoming a bit of a nanny state and things have worked well for years before the stabfast was introduced. Let's not overlook the reason why so many brigades are buying it, it works, it works extremely well, it works way faster than ladders with lines or ratchets, and it is designed to work safely specifically for this purpose.
Saying that "WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IT LIKE THIS AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN GOOD ENOUGH" may be very true, but if there's a good piece of kit out there that makes us even better and safer without ton's of over the top proceedures, let's spread the word and get all firefighters some of this kit all over the country. Sometimes, we firefighters are our own worst enemies because we muddle on using old kit and ideas when there are far more efficient ways of doing things. I'm not putting any brigades down that don't have this kit, all I'm saying is don't knock it until you've tried it because it really is good stuff.