Hook ladder

Hook ladder

The hook ladder (also called pompier ladder) was once a very important tool of the fire department as firefighters could theoretically reach every floor of a building with it. It consists of a simple 2.5-meter ladder with a long, flat hook on its top, with serrations on the underside which gripped the sill. A firefighter denied use of stairs inside a tall structure would lean out a window with the pompier ladder and swing the hook through the window above them, latching the hook to the window stool. They would then climb up the ladder, enter the window above, and repeat the process for as many stories as necessary. The hook ladder was previously used by fire departments all over the world, but its use has been discontinued in several countries as turntable ladders and fireproof stairwell construction have provided safer and more effective alternatives for ascent.

In the former Kent Fire Brigade of the 1960s, raw recruits were trained at the KFB Training Centre, Linton, nr. Maidstone. The 'Kent' ladders had a fixed "eye" by the top 'round' (rung). After a degree of competence was achieved, the trainee had to climb the ladder to the first floor, enter, straddling the window sill - one leg in, one leg out - then hoist and twist the ladder into the next floor's window, above. He then climbed back onto the ladder and mounted - same hand, same foot, until he reached the next floor. Once there, he attached a hook on a belt around his waist into the eye at the top of the ladder, took one hand and one foot off the ladder, shouting "Hooked"! It was not unknown, in those days, for an Instructor to be waiting on the second floor to give the 'hook' a kick, making it go back several 'teeth.' This gave the recruit a shock, but also more confidence in the equipment and himself.

See also

• Glossary of firefighting terms

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