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Whats the difference between a 'Rescue Ladder' a 'Pump Rescue Ladder' and a 'Water tender Ladder' or 'Water Tender'? Is it just a matter of service designation or does each type have a significant difference? Thanks.

Added by David Sapsford on 02 August 2008.

David, in the old days, PUMPS were considered an 'urban' spec appliance. As water is more readily available in towns and cities, they had a relatively small water tank (200 gallons/900 litres) and carried kit for urban incidents. A PUMP carried a 35 foot extension ladder. A PUMP LADDER was the same but carried a 45 foot ladder. A PUMP ESCAPE carried the wheeled escape ladder.

WATER TENDERS were considered as a 'rural' spec appliance. They had a bigger water tank (400 gallons/1800 litres) and an array of equipment to deal with rural incidents: light portable pumps, cow slings, grass fire beaters etc. As with PUMPS, WATER TENDERS carried a 35 foot ladder, and WATER TENDER LADDERS (also called WATER LADDERS) carried the bulkier 45 foot ladder.

Today WATER TENDERS and PUMPS are the same thing: they all carry 1800 litres of water. But as more and more Fire and Rescue Services put hydraulic cutting equipment on their frontline appliances, dozens of new designations have emerged to describe what are basically the same machine.

For instance: Lothian & Borders call their frontline appliances WATER LADDER/EMERGENCY TENDERS (WrL/ET). They are WATER LADDERS carrying the 45 foot ladder, and with a full rescue capability. Derbyshire call theirs PUMP RESCUE appliances (P/RES): basically a WATER LADDDER with full rescue capability (although they don't mention the larger ladder in their description.) West Midlands run PUMP RESCUE LADDERS (PRL): A pumping appliance with rescue gear and a 45 foot ladder. Similarly Warwickshire have PUMP RESCUE LADDERS (PRL), but also PUMP RESCUE TENDERS (PRT) -- the same firefighting rescue appliance but with the smaller 35 foot ladder. County Durham call theirs RESCUE WATER LADDERS (RWrL), Mersyside call theirs a WATER LADDER RESCUE (WrL/R). So most Brigade's designations are describing what are basically the same vehicle.

Staffordshire's differ slightly in that at one pump stations, the appliance is termed a PUMP RESCUE LADDER (PRL). The 'pump' part refers to a light portable pump (LPP). (A LPP is a bit like a car engine with handles that can be carried to a remote spot to pump water onto a fire or out of a flooded cellar for instance.)

At Staffordshire's two or three pump stations, the 'first-away' is deemed a RESCUE LADDER (RL) as it does not carry a LPP. Instead the LPP is carried on the 'second-away' and 'third-away' WATER TENDERS (WrT).

WATER TENDERS are the workhorse of any fire service responding to all fires small or large. As with most Brigades, Staffordshire's WATER TENDERS carry very little rescue capability.

Hope this helps. CHEERS, YELP.

Added by Yelp Bullhorn on 07 August 2008.

Thats very informative and interesting, thanks for taking the time to type that out!

Added by David Sapsford on 07 August 2008.

Yelp B.;

Really appreciate all that info.

I had been trying to puzzle out the various terms from all the Postings - plus their add-on effect - but at "Water Ladder Rescue", my brain was starting to hurt real bad.

And, I didn't realize that the different Fire Brigades had their own terminologies vs. a standard one for the whole country.

Thanks again, from Canada,
Pat_R-B

Added by Pat Rivers-Bowerman on 06 October 2008.

This appliance now operates out of sleepy Abbots Bromley.

Added by Yelp Bullhorn on 19 February 2010.

And in Tayside we call ours Rescue Pumps as well as Water Tender Ladders.

Added by Grant Melville on 19 February 2010.

This appliance may called "Major Pump" (MP) in Hong Kong.
The MPs in Hong Kong carries foam, too

Added by Clarence on 01 June 2010.

Lancashire have not had any water tenders for 20 years or more all pumping appliances only having 220 gall tanks.

Added by Neal Glover on 20 October 2010.

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