The San Diego Rural Fire Protection District in San Diego County, Calif., has 14 fire stations, four of which are staffed with three full-time firefighter positions 24/7. But it currently has no ladder truck. The closest ladder truck is an aerial ladder located in nearby Chula Vista. The response distance is about seven miles and response time is about twelve minutes. The RFPD's chief needed to develop valid implementation criteria that would justify the purchase of a ladder truck from both life- and property-saving perspectives.

Such trucks cost in the neighborhood of $1 million. In addition to the initial cost, the RFPD's ongoing costs for labor to staff the truck 24/7 with four on-duty firefighters would be an additional $1 million per year. (Costs may be even higher for other fire departments, depending on salaries and benefits.) On top of that, there are also operational, maintenance and amortization costs associated with such a purchase. Add it all up, assuming a 15-year lifespan for the apparatus, and the per-fire cost of the truck comes to about $46,000. While it is difficult to put a price on life, and while property loss can be high, this is a significant cost.

This is why an implementation threshold must be developed. The following criteria should be considered when crafting such a document:

Recommended equipment

The Insurance Services Office (ISO), which evaluates community fire protection and provides advisory information for the property/casualty insurance industry, has published recommendations in its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) regarding equipment on trucks. This list can be found at www.isomitigation.com.

Also, NFPA 1901 includes information on recommended equipment for aerial ladder fire trucks.

Truck companies perform many critical fireground tasks. Accordingly, they sometimes referred to as a "hardware store on wheels" because of the amount of equipment they carry, which cannot be carried on an engine company due to a lack of space. This is one reason why the traditional first-alarm assignment to a structure fire consists of two engine companies and one truck company.

If there is no aerial ladder truck on the scene, then the engine companies must perform the tasks normally performed by the ladder company, in addition to their normal tasks of hose-line operation. This can result in a higher property and life loss, as all critical fireground tasks cannot be done in a timely manner.

Staffing and response

The ISO's Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) measures the major elements of a community's fire-protection system, which includes guidelines for providing ladder truck and service company response. The ISO recommends that an aerial ladder truck be used in response areas that have:

• Five buildings that are three stories — 35 feet to the eaves — or more in height.
• Five buildings that require a fire flow of greater than 3,500 gpm.
• Five buildings with any combination of these criteria.

Further, the ISO recommends that the height of all buildings, including those protected by automatic fire sprinklers, should be considered when determining the number of needed ladder companies. Also, the height of the aerial ladder (or elevated platform) should be of sufficient reach to reach the rooftop of any building or 100 feet, whichever is less.

When no individual response district in a municipality requires a ladder company, the ISO recommends that at least one ladder company be in place if buildings in the municipality meet the above criteria.

For response areas not requiring a ladder truck per the above criteria above, the ISO recommends a service company. A service company is like a squad with ladders. Some partial credit may be available from ISO for a service truck when a ladder company is needed, but not provided.

For maximum credit in the FSRS, all sections of the community with hydrant protection should be within a 2.5-road-mile response distance — about 5 minutes assuming an average speed of 35 mph — of a fully equipped ladder/service company. This equates to a response area of 12.5 square miles. (Obviously, response speeds may differ based on local conditions.) The ISO will not give credit to any truck company more than 5 road miles away. However, credit may be given for automatic-aid truck companies, but a community with risks that require an aerial ladder truck should not rely on an automatic-aid truck, as it is only a truck company. Such companies may be unavailable at the times they are needed in the community.

The FSRS also sets guidelines for properties that require a fire flow greater than 3,500 gpm. If the needed fire flow is 4,000 to 4,500 gpm, one ladder company is needed. From 5,000 to 6,500 gpm, two ladder companies are needed. From 7,000 to 8,500 gpm, three ladder companies are needed, and the number needed increases up to 12,000 gpm.

For maximum credit in the FSRS, six firefighters are needed on the ladder/service company apparatus. ISO should be consulted for its community-specific recommendations. The cost for six on-duty, fully paid personnel is prohibitive for most fire departments. Four on-duty firefighters should be adequate in the real world and would comply, for the most part, with NFPA 1710.

NFPA 1710 recommends staffing of four firefighters per company at the scene. For high fire hazard areas, five to six firefighters per company are recommended. NFPA 1710 further recommends that the first alarm to a structure fire arrives in eight minutes driving time. Aerial ladder trucks are not discussed specifically.

Critical tasking at structural fires can require at least 14 to 15 firefighters on the first alarm to a typical residence fire. Depending on the size, height and type of commercial or industrial occupancy, staffing requirements can rise to 17 for a medium-risk and 26 for a high-risk occupancy. On-scene staffing demands can be much greater — 49 or more firefighters — for maximum-risk occupancies, while high-rise fires can require up to 100 firefighters. Again, one-third of the fireground tasks are considered truck work. Consequently, of the 49 firefighters required by a maximum-risk occupancy, 16 would be needed for truck work. This equates to four, four-person ladder truck companies.

Moreover, with the increase of industrial facilities in the industrial area served by the fire-protection district, the need for technical rescue operations — e.g., high angle, confined space and cave-in — increases. This is typically truck work.

Even if no ISO criteria existed, fire-protection planning efforts should consider a truck company for any relatively isolated community, and should take into account the number of occupancies, potential fire size, fire complexity and risk, potential for life loss (particularly in large occupancies) and the potential for dollar loss to the community tax base, given the fact that many businesses never recover from a fire.

Response area risks

Because of the high cost of a truck and staffing, it is necessary to estimate the present and future risk in a response area. Not all areas need such a truck. However, as certain types of new development are proposed — such as industrial, high-rise, large commercial, multi-family dwellings and institutions — a truck company becomes necessary and must be planned for in advance.

Risk is the end point of probability versus outcome. An area that has a low probability and low outcome of a fire that would require a truck may be able to get by with a squad or service truck company, backed up by automatic- or mutual-aid trucks. A truck in a station that serves such slow areas may end up with square tires. But areas with a low probability but high potential outcome if a fire occurs, or unique occupancy risks, may well need a truck. (Such a truck also can provide double duty as an engine, if it is a quint.) Areas with medium or high probability and medium or high outcome would need a dedicated aerial ladder truck company. Older, built-up areas in large communities must have trucks based on what there is to burn and the potential life hazard.

The concept of an acceptable level of risk also is involved. In an imperfect world, with the budget constraints faced by many fire departments, a truck company may simply not be cost effective in all areas at the current time. Therefore, the fire chief needs to determine the acceptable level of risk in any one response area.

San Diego County: Case Study

The type of apparatus recommended for the RFPD was a 100-foot, single chassis (non tiller) quint/aerial ladder truck. (In certain communities, depending upon road patterns and types of occupancies, a tiller truck may be needed.) This unit can operate as either an engine company or a truck company.

It was recommended that the truck be staffed by four on-duty firefighters, though this might not be possible from the outset given budget constraints. Again, the ISO recommendations outlined above should be followed where feasible, and the local potential properties at risk should be considered, in order to determine a truck's staffing needs. Beyond the ISO recommendations, any multi-story building (four stories or more from accessible grade), and any building that is beyond the reach of the ground ladders carried on the fire engines would necessitate aerial ladder truck service at the scene.

Further, any building that has a roof beyond the reach of the tallest ground ladder carried by the fire engine or service company requires an aerial ladder truck at the scene. If that tallest ladder is a 35-foot ladder, the maximum building height it can reach is about 28 feet.

Also, any major occupancy that has an extremely high fire or life hazard, even if it does not exceed the ISO threshold, necessitates an aerial ladder truck at the scene. This could include a major lumberyard, petroleum refinery, chemical plant, hospital or prison. It should be noted that the need for a truck company increases based on the increased probability of a structure fire and the need to carry out numerous critical tasks at the fire.

Based on the high cost of this type of apparatus and related staffing, and the types of occupancies approved so far within the RFPD study area, it might not seem like a ladder truck is needed. The structures typically have a better fire record than, for example, an older industrial district or a residential district. However, when a fire does occur, it could be a large fire with a high dollar and/or life loss.

No one development should be required to fund a truck due to the high cost, and to the fact that all occupancies in the immediate area will benefit from the truck company. The cost of such a truck should be shared by the developments and the fire department, as all have a role in community fire protection. This could be based on a formula that considers size of occupancy and risk, or some other type of benefit assessment. The assumption is that all are protected by supervised, automatic fire sprinklers.

As a first step in implementation, it was recommended that the RFPD deploy a service company within the study area in the near future. This truck can be brought to the scene by engine company personnel for the use of other arriving personnel. The district then would purchase a new 100-foot quint aerial ladder truck, and place it in service at the existing fire station. An additional apparatus bay may be needed. A tiller-type chassis is probably not needed, as the roads are wide enough with good turning radii in the study area. Tillers usually are needed in communities where streets are narrow and corners are sharp.

The actual number of responses requiring a truck company would probably not be as excessive as in a large city. So probabilities are relatively low — but potential risks are high. The apparatus actually serves as another tool in the firefighter's tool box, and hopefully would result in a better ISO rating. This apparatus can initially be cross-staffed by on-duty personnel, or brought to the scene by a second arriving RFPD company, until funding becomes available for staffing. One truck company is probably sufficient for the area studied, given the availability of the automatic-aid and mutual-aid truck companies.

Truck companies are a very valuable asset for a fire department. However, they have become very expensive. In addition, they are not pressed into battle as much in many communities, compared with previous years, because of improved fire prevention practices, fire sprinklers and more-modern, code-compliant buildings, which are resulting in less fires — and in less devastating fires when they do occur.

Therefore, risk-based criteria must be developed by fire chiefs to provide the basis for implementation thresholds to justify the purchase and staffing of an aerial ladder truck company. Such threshold criteria must be reasonable and understandable to the laypersons who are sharing in the cost of funding the truck company.

Aerial Purpose

About one-third of fireground tasks at a structure fire are considered truck work. This can be remembered by the acronym US LOVERS:

U: Utilities (shut off utilities)
S: Salvage (perform salvage operations)
L: Laddering
O: Overhaul
V: Ventilation
E: Exposure protection
R: Rescue (search and rescue)
S: Suppression (using elevated streams)

• See the "Implementation Thresholds for Consideration" table to learn about different threshold levels.

James W. Hunt is president of Hunt Research, and is a longtime community fire-protection planning consultant. He also is a former chief officer and firefighter. He can be reached at jhunt2@gte.net.

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Implementation Thresholds for Consideration

Threshold	Response Area Risk Factor and Percent Buildout	Type of Vehicle	On-Duty Company Staffing	First-Alarm Response and On-Scene Staffing
1] Interim	Low risk, 0-25%	Service company with 35-foot ground ladder	Cross staff plus reserves. Continue current automatic-aid agreement	3 engines, 1 service company, 1 battalion chief, 1 automatic-aid truck; 3 firefighters
2] Two years, more than 25% buildout, 3.5 million square feet under roof, whichever is first.	Medium risk, 25-49%	New quint/aerial truck company	Cross staff with engine crew and reserves. Continue automatic-aid agreement	3 engines, 1 aerial truck, 1 battalion chief, 1 automatic-aid truck; 17 firefighters
3] Four years and exceeds ISO trigger point. 50% buildout or 5 million square feet under roof, more than one high-rise or multi-story (4 or more) habitable building (hospital, prison, etc.) beyond those currently in approval process	High risk, 50%+	100-foot quint aerial ladder company	Staff with 3 on-duty firefighters	5 engines, 1 RFPD aerial truck, 2 battalion chiefs, 1 automatic aid aerial truck
4] Five years growth	High risk, 50%+	Same	Staff with 4 on-duty firefighters	26 firefighters