We Build the Ladders by which We Climb: Inspirations

Inside the Ladder Shop at the San Francisco Fire Department from AdamKaplan on Vimeo.

This video takes you inside the Ladder Shop at the San Francisco Fire Department, the only fire department in the United States to design and manufacture its own ladders and one of the few to use wooden ladders. In a city like San Francisco where there are low-lying power lines and narrow streets, wooden ladders are essential, because they do not conduct electricity and are easy to fit into tight spaces. The douglas fir from which these ladders are made must sit and mature for 15 years before the two week construction of the actual ladder takes place. And although wooden ladders are much more expensive, they have a longer lifespan than their aluminum counterparts, with the oldest ladder in service having been built in 1918.