You know, we have some pretty cool tools that help us fight fires. But, what many of us on the front-line realize is that a small change here and there in a product would make it better for our particular use. Some manufacturers listen well and keep updating product design with the ultimate user (firefighters!) firmly in mind. Others? Not so much.
So, as I looked at the spiking tools we use every day on Ladder Co. 24, I realized that we needed a better face plate, a much improved handle and we needed to use some kind of material that would be lighter, stronger and even more durable than the tools we use today.
So, we came up with something we call BigSpikeTools. Our first prototype as about 78 inches long and weighs on 11 lbs. But, in tighter quarters, we needed a slightly shorter product. Telescoping rods won’t work because we don’t have time to play around with unlocking, adjusting and the relocking extension rods for different lengths depending on the cramped quarters in which we sometimes work. Oh, and then there’s the crunch of TIME, and how that plays into stopping a fire before it can get out of hand.
