TURNTABLE LADDERS

Strathclyde inherited a number of different chassis and three makes of Turntable Ladders, namely Metz, Merryweather and Magirus. The majority of them were on AEC chassis but Glasgow Fire Service purchased Deutz 150D chassis the last of which had a cage at the head of the ladder.
The first chassis purchased by Strathclyde were Shelvoke and Drewry WY on which they mounted old ladders. They then bought French Pierreville ladders and mounted them on Shelvoke  and then a Dennis chassis. The final five ladders were of Metz manufacture and mounted on Scania chassis with 'H' type jacks. These ladders also had cages which could be fitted to the head of the ladder, and the ladder could be controlled from the cage. The cage was meant to be stowed under the ladder but was often carried fitted to the head of the ladder and if in the upright position had a tendency to catch on the bay door which it damaged but worse could bend the ladder much to the annoyance of Assistant Firemaster Gallacher.
The advantage of the Turntable Ladder is the speed with which it can be deployed at an incident and also it's ability to manoeuvre in tight spaces. The chassis is also quite small especially compared to the Aerial Ladder Platforms. You will often hear an assistance message asking for a Turntable Ladder as opposed to an Aerial as if an Aerial is requested the nearest one is sent and you don't know if you are getting a TL, HP or ALP. In some cases an ALP has been sent on only to discover it is too big to get near the job and been sent away and a TL requested.

In 1980 Strathclyde Fire Brigade bought two new Pierreville Turntable Ladders manufactured by the Canadian company, Pierreville Fire Trucks who were trying to break into the UK and European markets. The 4 section 100 foot (30Metres) all steel ladders were mounted on Shelvoke and Drewry WY 4x2 chassis by Fulton and Wylie of Irvine. In 1985 the Brigade purchased a further two of these ladders again supplied by Fulton and Wylie but this time mounted on Dennis DF133 chassis.
Strathclyde was the one and only UK brigade to purchase this make of Turntable Ladder.

There are now no Turntable Ladders in the brigade the last one was taken off the run at Clydebank on the 19th? June 2006 due to a faulty hydraulic pump and due to the high cost involved and the imminent arrival of an Aerial Rescue Pump it was not deemed economical to repair it. The TL has been given to the Strathclyde Fire Brigade Preservation Group. On Friday 25/2/2011 the keys of this TL were handed over to Islamic Relief by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue to be given to Rescue 1122 in Lahore, Pakistan. Originally based at Kilmarnock from 1989 to 1999 and then at Clydebank for the last seven years C812JGB was a Metz 100' Turntable Ladder mounted on a Scania G92M chassis with bodywork done by Angloco the Metz agent in the United Kingdom. It was the first Metz ladder to be bought by Strathclyde Fire Brigade and the first Turntable Ladder to be mounted by them on a Scania chassis. The last turnout it had was to Drumchapel in the early hours of 18th June, 2006. This was a small fire extinguished by a hose reel and the TL was not used.

Photos of Turntable Ladders

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