Hopefully, with the catchy title, we’ll be able to reach out to some of the so-called Generation Xers and seasoned veterans of today’s fire service. Now that you’re reading this article, let me clarify that we’re not going to discuss any type of tattoos. However, we will discuss the value of ladder marking. Like the tattoo, which dates back many centuries, ladder markings have been around the fire service for many years. Unlike the current revival in the popularity of tattoos, ladder marking seems to have fallen by the wayside.
Why this should be is an often-asked question in the fire service, especially since many departments have stressed the importance of returning to the basics. After conducting some behind-the-scenes research and fact finding, it is apparent that many fire departments haven’t been exposed to many of these short-cuts, tricks of the trade, or what some of us thought were the plain basics in portable ladder operations.
Because of our familiarity with many of these techniques, they may seem so basic and trivial. Yet it seems that many fire departments are unaware of them, refuse to accept or practice some of them, or are just plain set in their ways and procedures.
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