Along with the 32 meter BMPM ladder in picture 46163, this illustrates a quite common combination of different aerials which can be found in a lot of French towns and cities. While the 30 or 32 metre unit is very popular, it is also very often accompanied by a more compact and maneuverable 18 to 25 metre one like this example. This is especially the case when a fire service has to cope with incidents in older central areas with very narrow streets and highly congested areas - as well as more modern outlying high rise structures and industrial, commercial and institutional buildings. Given the age of many urban centers, this dual risk profile happens quite often. Now that more compact 32 metre ladders on very short wheelbase chassis have been introduced recently, it seems like that in future this need to have two different units might become redundant.
Added by Rob Johnson on 02 March 2026.