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Fiberglass, probably. Which is what SF should be doing.
by xienze 8y ago
Fiberglass, probably. Which is what SF should be doing.
- ra1n85 8y agoMost ladders are fiber glass - which makes me wonder why any off the shelf ladder wouldn't suffice.
- maxerickson 8y agoIn my experience aluminum is more common than fiberglass.
- 52-6F-62 8y agoThe film industry uses almost exclusively fiberglass as well. There's no shortage. They're swimming in those things. I would bet their lifespan is shorter than the wooden ladders, however. At least from what I've seen.
- throwaway5752 8y agoFiberglass is reinforced plastic, though, so that might explain why it isn't used in FDs even if it's heavily used in other domains. How well does it hold up to heat? How does that exposure effect it structural properties? I honestly don't know and don't have time to look it up, but I could see thermal plastic deformation over such a long run as potentially hazardous.
- 52-6F-62 8y agoCould be. I know film shoots can end up occurring in all kinds of weather (especially here in Canada), and often the ladders will be sidled up to large sun lamps (which I can assure you get very hot), and in electrically-compromising situations, but all of those are very different from an actual fire.
- throwaway5752 8y agoWow. I wish I had time in the day to look at NFPA (Nat'l FIre Protection Assn) standards. 1931, 1914, and 1911 seem pertinent - this is clearly something that many people have devoted a lot of time and energy to. edit: http://tkolb.net/safety/LadderSafety/LadderSafety.html http://tkolb.net/safety/LadderSafety/LadderSafety.html ... can't vouch for site but interesting.
- petee 8y agoWe use them because they are osha mandated, and have to be rated for like 350lbs. And aluminum will just kink and bend the first week on the job. Huge downside to fiberglass is they are UV sensitive - i've seen ladders just crumbling because they were left in the sun
- 52-6F-62 8y agoI worked for a supplier to the industry for a little while heading an electrical department, but spent some time in hardware maintenance as well. I saw plenty of those things nearly bleached white if they lasted long enough.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- bluGill 8y agoHow does fiberglass stand to high heat?
- burger_moon 8y agoI looked up g11 and g10 for their structural heat limits, because I know they have a higher heat resistance than most fiberglass, and are limited to around 150c/ 300f. I looked up what a typical house fire burns at which is 600c/1100f. This is actually a great case where asbestos shines. It's nonconductive and can stand very high temperatures. If not for the whole cancer thing.
- CarVac 8y agoThe fibers aren't that big an issue. If you want better heat tolerant fibers you can use basalt fiber. The problem is the matrix, which softens under heat unless you use exotic things like ceramic matrix composites which are brittle.
- wnoise 8y ago> This is actually a great case where asbestos shines. Asbestos is heavy as rock.
- mmagin 8y agoSome casual googling earlier suggests to me that fiberglass ladders are fiberglass/polyester, not fiberglass/epoxy.
- solitus 8y agoIndeed, .fiberglass is very light and the SF wooden ladders must be so damn heavy!
- 8_hours_ago 8y agohttps://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Firefighting-tradition-also-saves-2584568.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Firefig... "[wood ladders] don't conduct electricity like aluminum or wet fiberglass ladders do." "'Aluminum or fiberglass, when it gets too hot, it gets soft; it will actually fold over without any warning,' he said. 'Wood takes hours to fail completely -- enough time for a firefighter to see it burning and get off it.'" "Once an aluminum or fiberglass ladder cracks, it usually has to be replaced. Wooden ones can always be repaired, he said."
- SllX 8y agoYou see this is what I don't understand. Here lies a pretty cool article about a pretty cool practice demonstrating how the SFFD maintains their own equipment, to their own specifications (rather than an approximation thereof), and for less money than simply farming it out to a vendor. There might even be an applicable (to HN) lesson here on the value of employing an in-house toolmaker, whatever your profession may be. And then there's this lot here in the comments that is completely in arms against it because le Hackernews is obviously an expert Fire Brigade, or just has an allergic reaction to civilian government agencies maintaining their own equipment versus joining the throwaway consumerist cult the rest of world has acquiesced to.
- JackCh 8y agoI think a big part of it is a tendency of tech/engineering sorts to have an allergic reaction against any sort of tradition. Old fashioned is worse than uncool, it's dumb and outs you as an inferior mind to the engineering who is always rational and pragmatic and has no time for tradition. In other words, it's a social disorder.