Grenfell Tower

The news of the Grenfell  Tower fire is tragic.

There did not seem to be any tall firefighting equipment on the scene that could reach near the top of the tower.  I had thought that the London Fire Brigade had more tall equipment.

The U.S. cities that have some tall aerial rescue and suppression equipment are fortunate that leaders worked to get the equipment that could save lives in a high-rise incident.  Of course, the 110’ and 118’ ‘tall’ ladders and platforms would only work on structures up to 100’-110’ for rescue, and fire apparatus is now available that will reach up to 365’ (112 meters).

I am sure that there will be a plethora of investigations as to what can be learned from this event, but for now, we should all be thinking of the victims, as well as the heroes that have been risking everything in order to save lives and property.