Alhambra (LA County), CA- Multi-Alarm Fire 05-12-11

I've noticed recently that the majority of truck companies that we see at California fires are TDA's, for example all three at this fire are TDA.  It seems like they have fewer tight areas to maneuver in than many of the East Coast cities yet they have more TDA's, does anyone know the reasoning for this?
 
They like the tillers for some reason. LA County, and CITY have no tower ladders in their inventory. County has a few rear mounts, and that's because the Truck companies they are assigned to don't have room in the firehouse for a tillered quint. The last two Ladder Towers they had were disposed of recently.

LA CITY is all tillered aerials with no pump or pre piped water ways. Long Beach has at least one Tower that I know of, and one Telesqurt. I remember going to visit FS 127, where Emergency! was filmed, the first time I went out there 10 years ago. I was expecting a Ladder Tower, as I had seen in pictures. They had a tillered Quint. I wanted to cry.

There are some pretty tight streets out there. And, I think they find them more maneuverable in some spots where the traffic can be a little thick. Also, they don't have a lot of the buildings like we do where a TL would be useful.
 
It's interesting that they don't have any towers.  At one time they had at least a few (maybe more) Snorkels which, while not the same as a tower, served a similar purpose in some ways.  Maybe they decided they didn't like the idea.  Different philosophy, I guess.
 
I asked that same question regarding the TDA's vs Rear mounts or platforms to my friends at LA City. The response was greater flexibility and manuverability. They mate a engine with just a driver with the TDA and it can operate as a "light force". I have been with them when they gave the engine a medical call only to have a second call come in and it be given to the remaining TDA and pump light force. If all three pieces respond, it is the task force. 
They feel it allows them to split assets to handle increased call volumes and quicker mobility during the fire season. In some of the mountain areas the only home for a truck company is a TDA.

On another note, Huntington Beach Fire operates a TDA with a 1500 GPM pump and a small water tank.
 
It seems like a tower or a rear mount coupled with a engine could just as easily function as a "light force".  I certainly don't understand not having anything pre-piped because the last two days we seen fires were they used aerial streams to a large extent.  FDNY would if used towers but....
 
LA County is big on the Quints. Especially since they can take an Engine and relocate it for brush fires, or use it for a brush fire strike team(5 Engines and a BC). This leaves a double house(Engine and Quint) with a piece of equipment that can be put to work as an engine. LA County only has a few light forces, and they are counted as Truck Companies. They also have a couple of stand alone Quints, and they act as either or depending on where they are assigned on an incident.

CITY tried out one of the quints a number of years ago, IIRC, and they weren't sold on it. They like the light force concept of an engine and truck staffed by 6 guys, and counted as a truck company. CITY got away from Snorkels in either the late 70's or 80's. County went to the towers in the 80's.

It's a totally different way of life out there. They don't have the structures like New York does, in the sense of 6 brick MD's or 22 story projects. They also get a lot of life out of their rigs. Usually twice what NYC gets. Usually 15-20 years front line service, then 10 or more as a spare/reserve. I was out there about 5 years ago and saw a 1977 Crown Firecoach being used as a spare, and a 1974 Crown being used as a frontline piece for the Call Firefighters(Volunteers) attached to a station out in the boonies.
 
I personally would take a Tiller rig over any other type Ladder apparatus anyday.....even though NYC has cut the number of Tillers to almost nothing i think that all SOC Support Ladders should have Tiller Rigs as this would allow them more compartment space to allow them to carry the equiptment that is on their second piece & have it with them at all the times eliminating having to return to quarters to pick it up if they are out when certain runs come in requiring the special equiptment .....also they would be able to maneuver in any area of the City.......one of the bullshit reasons for phasing out the Tiller rigs in the '70s was that there were too many Tiller related accidents....however i feel the number of accidents did increase with the less maneuverable rear mounts.....they just were not classified as a Tiller accident.   
 
68jk09 said:
I personally would take a Tiller rig over any other type Ladder apparatus anyday.....even though NYC has cut the number of Tillers to almost nothing i think that all SOC Support Ladders should have Tiller Rigs as this would allow them more compartment space to allow them to carry the equiptment that is on their second piece & have it with them at all the times eliminating having to return to quarters to pick it up if they are out when certain runs come in requiring the special equiptment .....also they would be able to maneuver in any area of the City.......one of the bullshit reasons for phasing out the Tiller rigs in the '70s was that there were too many Tiller related accidents....however i feel the number of accidents did increase with the less maneuverable rear mounts.....they just were not classified as a Tiller accident. 
Click to expand...
You are so correct on this!  :) You can "re-tractor" a tiller that's been worn-out or damaged due to an accident, mechanical problem, etc. and prolong it's useful service life. On the other hand, the "Bean Counters" probably don't like the idea of two NYC employees steering it. ;)
 
Check out LA CountyFire.com for more info. Not a complete photo listing but a complete apparatus/station listing.
 
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