London Fire Brigade Announces The Launch Of A New Suite Of Turntable Aerial Ladders To Deal With High Rise Incidents

3 Sep 2020

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New aerial ladders that are more responsive to drive, faster to set up and with greater rescue capabilities are soon to hit the streets of London as the Brigade continues to improve its ability to deal with high rise incidents.

Twelve new 32 meter appliances known as turntable ladders are part of the aerial replacement project and have many improvements on the existing fleet, the biggest being that the ladder articulates, allowing for greater maneuverability. The articulating top section means that down London’s narrow streets the turntable ladder can now set up closer to the building than previous aerial appliances.

thermal imaging camera

The new engines will be highly visible on London’s streets with its bright yellow ladder, bumpers and fenders

The reach obtained can also means that the machines can be placed further away and overcome obstacles which would have problematic previously. The new turntable ladders are swift and responsive to drive and can reach their top working height within a minute from the moment of arrival at an incident. Other features include a detachable thermal imaging camera, improved stretcher capabilities all of which will enhance the company’s operations at height.

They will also improve the capabilities for lighting and observation of emergencies from above, giving incident commanders greater knowledge from the sky. Turntable ladders are used by the Brigade for a wide range of tasks such as aerial water towers to put water on buildings from height, rescues, high level lighting and as observation platforms. The new engines will be highly visible on London’s streets with its bright yellow ladder, bumpers and fenders.

open air training

It also has driver aides like pre-emptive braking and lane change technology. London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said: “Our new aerial ladders are more responsive, quicker to set up and improve our ability to fight fires and rescue people from height. Our determination to get these working on London’s streets despite the challenges COVID-19 has given us shows our commitment to improve our response, especially at high rise incidents.”

Training has been able to start on the new turntable ladders due to the hard work of Brigade staff and in close liaison with the Fire Brigades Union to make sure it can be done safely during the pandemic. The courses were completely revamped to make sure safe procedures are in place including the wearing of masks during driver training, increased open air training and regular sanitation of delegates hands and the machines.

aerial ladder platform

The Brigade will soon have three 64 meter ladders and they will be the tallest in the country

Internal training venues were found quickly to make sure staff didn’t need to travel long distances and the risk to those involved could be reduced. Firefighters have also been incredibly flexible, attending courses at short notice to make sure the vehicles become operational as soon as possible. The Brigade’s training provider Babcock have made additional machines for training available so that multiple venues can be used, allowing for increased training while maintaining social distancing.

In addition to these new 32 meter turntable ladders, the Brigade will soon have three 64 meter ladders and they will be the tallest in the country. Following tests and operational training the appliances are expected to be in service in the New Year. London Fire Brigade currently uses two main types of aerial appliance: the aerial ladder platform and the turntable ladder.

present operational fleet

The present operational fleet consists of four turntable ladders and seven aerial ladder platforms, plus four others used as reserve appliances for training. When the replacement project is completed the Brigade will only use turntable ladders. The new M32L-AS Ladders are manufactured by Magirus in Germany and as a first for LFB, are mounted on a Scania Lowline 360hp chassis.

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Andy Roe London Fire Brigade

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