The emergence of smaller turntable ladders like this example speeded the demise of the wheeled 18 and 20 metre ladders, which were very popular in earlier times in France, and a few of which - now with electric motors - are still used by a handful of French fire brigades. In Germany the trend to abandon wheeled long ladders started twenty years earlier, again following the quite early introduction of small turntable ladders by both Metz and Magirus, but of course wheeled 15 meter “escape” ladders were commonplace in the UK for much longer.
Added by Rob Johnson on 05 December 2024.