Truck vs Ladder

[auxman]

Is whether a vehicle a "truck" or a "ladder" up to the individual FD or are there some official guidelines on this? I've seen pretty much the same vehicle with the same equipment referred to both ways. Where do quints fit in to this?

Just a minor point I've always wondered about.

[tree68]

Yes.

And in Kansas City, a triple combination is called a "Pumper," not an engine.

In Maryland and environs it's not uncommon to hear a pumper referred to as a "Wagon."

Some folks run quints as primarily engines. Some run them as primarily aerials.

Some call them engines, some call them trucks/ladders, some call them quints.

It's all local/regional.

[CaptOldTimer]

Don't forget Quads, Service Trucks, Tenders, Pumps, etc.

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Where do quints fit in to this?

Just a minor point I've always wondered about.

Quints, and the personnel assigned to them are "Bi-Trucksual"

[footrat]

Where I work, we have Engine, Truck, and Quint designations.

We have 22 engines, 7 trucks, and 4 quints. Of the 7 trucks, 3 are senior aerials, meaning that they are tractor-drawn tillered 105 ft. aerials. The other 4 are 100 ft. platform aerials, which also happen to technically be quints, based upon their characteristics. All the quints that we CALL quints are non-platformed 75-foot aerials.

The way that our designations go, if you have a double company- one with an engine and an aerial- the aerial is called a truck. If the aerial is the only water-carrying apparatus in the station, it gets called a quint. When a first line aerial apparatus is in the shop, the station may end up with a bucket truck or a 75-foot straight stick, whichever reserves are available. In the case of a quint swapping into a reserve bucket truck, it gives them more room than they need for equipment. In the case of a tiller swapping into anything else, there's not enough room. A tiller to a reserve 75-footer leaves a lot of equipment on the bay floor.

[fire49]

Fire Truck or

BRT

[FiremanLyman]

Wait, don't forget an Aerialscope.

It is really a regional thing. Most often a Ladder refers to a "straight stick" with no platform. A Truck is a more broad definition, anything that qualifies as an aerial apparatus (NFPA 1901). Then there are Tower Ladders, Towers, Snorkels and more.

Even more fun. Engine companies are refered to as: Engines, Motors, Pumpers, Wagons, Squads, etc...

[nyckftbl]

Whether truck or ladder, the correct term for the members that ride them are "sh*tty cooks" or similiar.

[RyanK63]

Like everyone else said, pretty much depends on the area you're in. My area anything without a bucket is called a ladder, including quints with the exception in the one major city, anything WITH a bucket is a truck.

[JackNL]

Like everyone else said, pretty much depends on the area you're in. My area anything without a bucket is called a ladder, including quints with the exception in the one major city, anything WITH a bucket is a truck.

Haha that's quite simplified.

[hwoods]

Here, Two Options - A "Truck" which has a Ladder but no Bucket on the end, and a "Tower" which has a Bucket. We have one "Quint", which, quite frankly, is called a few things that refer to questionable parentage, but on the Radio, it's a "Quint"......

[hwoods]

In Maryland and environs it's not uncommon to hear a pumper referred to as a "Wagon."

Wagon was a DCFD term adopted by the Volunteers in the surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia many years ago........ It comes from "Hose Wagon" which was a horse drawn wagon carrying Hose to be stretched from the Water to the Fire. The "Pumper" was the second section of the "Two Piece Engine Company" which was to become the Norm in the DC Region for many, many, years..... Today, when a VFD runs two Engines together on a Fire, they commonly refer to them as the Wagon and Pumper..........

[NFD-Firefighter]

We call our Quint ladder one...

[VinnieB]

Whether truck or ladder, the correct term for the members that ride them are "sh*tty cooks" or similiar.

And to think such engine delicacies as Half a Chicken a man and tuna melts.....someone please pass the bottle of flavor...and the garbage can. My work duty shoe tastes better then most engine meals.


Here we say both....on the radio you will here the word "Truck"...most guys refer to thier company as "xx Truck" or Ladder Co. xx (unless you are in a borough with a zip code for a firehouse...then its "xxxTruck"...or in Queens they have cute animal names for thier places..."Hog Roof to Hog....") Frequently you will hear a Tower Ladder identify themselves on the radio as "tower ladder xx" ....Tillers, just say "truck or ladder".

[WD6956]

We run Engines, straight sticks and a Ladder Tower. None have pumps.

Officially all our ariels are designated as "Ladders". Ladder, 1, Ladder, 2, etc. Unofficially, we call them Trucks.

A stright stick is a Ladder.
A platform where the stick is a ladder is a Ladder Tower.
A platform where the stick is a box beam is a Tower Ladder.

But all three are "Trucks".

[nyckftbl]

And to think such engine delicacies as Half a Chicken a man and tuna melts.....someone please pass the bottle of flavor...and the garbage can. My work duty shoe tastes better then most engine meals.


Here we say both....on the radio you will here the word "Truck"...most guys refer to thier company as "xx Truck" or Ladder Co. xx (unless you are in a borough with a zip code for a firehouse...then its "xxxTruck"...or in Queens they have cute animal names for thier places..."Hog Roof to Hog....") Frequently you will hear a Tower Ladder identify themselves on the radio as "tower ladder xx" ....Tillers, just say "truck or ladder".

[Bones42]

What about Chicago's snorkels? Are they "trucks" or "ladders"?

In my area, we have engines and aerials. "Truck" is used to refer to the assignment on the fireground, as in Truck work and/or Engine work.

Truck work is normally assigned to an aerial, but not always. My engine has operated as Truck 1 and/or Truck 2 at many fires.

[JTFIRE80]

This is why I like plain speak. In my county we have the following:

Ladder= Straight Stick
Tower= Elevated Platform
Quint= Straight Stick w/pump/H20
Squrt= A Squrt
Snorkel= A Snorkel

Can't get much easier then that!!

[ffscm72]

call it whatever you want...just don't call it late for 10-17 (dinner in my neck of the woods)...

[FIREMECH1]

If I remember right, I think I asked something similar a long while ago. It went something like this:

About 2-3 years ago the FD changed calling "ladder rigs" from Aerials to Trucks. The story was to be compliant with some directive or other, to be recognized as a single unit recognized nationally. Another words, it was changed so that if you heard Truck 31, you would know it was a ladder rig. Didn't matter whether if it was a platform/tower, quint, or straight stick. All became labeled as "Trucks". The other reason, which was never proven, was that NIMS had a hand in it, and wanted everyone on the same page nationally for what a rig was dispatched as.

For us, the term "ladder", was dropped about 15 or so years ago in favor of Aerial, for whatever reason.

FM1

EDIT: Found it: http://www.firehouse.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111089 (Apparatus naming standard)