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By Mark van der Feyst
At any structure fire, it is a good idea to initiate proactive fireground tasks. Pre-paring the fire ground ahead of time will aid in certain operations and provide a safety net for other operations. One such task is laddering the building.
Throwing ground ladders to all windows of the structure provides for immediate access to the building as well as immediate access out of the building. For any firefighter survival action needed, such as a ladder dive, the firefighter will be able to feel for the ladder and then dive out. For any RIT operation requiring access to upper floors, the ground ladders will provide that quick access.
The key is to have enough ground ladders available to ladder all four sides of the building and the manpower to initiate it. RIT members or pump operators can be used to ladder all four sides as part of their proactive tasks.