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Standing by the wooden ladder: San Francisco is the only fire department in the country to still make all of its own ladders. A look at the singular woodshop in this famously fire-phobic city.
“A wood ladder,” Braun said, “does not conduct electricity. In case you have a ladder up and you were to strike a live wire, you won’t get electrocuted.”
It’s a danger that retired Battalion Chief William C. Peters of the Jersey City (N.J.) Fire Department understands all too well.
In the 1990s, Jersey City firefighters were called to a blazing tenement. People were trapped on the third floor, screaming for help. As two rescuers struggled to hoist an aluminum ladder in the snow, a third firefighter jumped in to help. When they swung the apparatus toward the building, it struck a 4,800-volt primary power line.
All three firefighters were hit with a jolt of electricity, Peters recalled. One of the men died. Another lost toes and a finger. The third was blown clear. “His heart rhythm was screwed up for a while,” Peters said.
Photo: Craftsman Jerry Lee is shown in the city’s public works building, where the city Fire Department continues to make and repair its own wood fire ladders. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times
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(Source: Los Angeles Times)
