London Fire Brigade 55ft escape ladder, serial no. E452, 1900-1980. Made in three sections with wired ropes, the extending ladder is mounted on a sliding carriage.

Wheeled escape ladders were developed during the early part of the 19th century, as the increasing height of buildings made flee from the upper floors of such buildings almost impossible if a fire occurred on a lower floor. Such escapes were usually stationed at intervals about the streets and wheeled to fires when needed.

However, these first ladders were simple ladders of the first-floor type, which were seldom more than 18 ft. in length. It was from elementary attempts at coupling several of these together that the first extending ladders were evolved.

The street fire escaped where replaced in the latter part of the 19th century, when a new type of escape ladder designed to be carried on a horse-drawn cart, was first introduced into the London Fire Brigade. Escape-carts later became escape-vans, which were fitted with first-aid firefighting equipment. Horses slowly gave way to the introduction of the motorised fire vans in 1906, while street escapes were eventually withdrawn right across London.

This example, acquired from the Wiltshire Fire Brigade, was originally from the London Fire Brigade. Extending up to 55ft and mounted on a sliding carriage, it was made to be fitted onto a fire engine. It is now displayed on top of a Dennis ‘Big Four’ dual purpose appliance of 1936, contemporary in date and formerly owned by the London Fire Brigade.

The escape consists of an extending ladder in three sections: the main ladder, the middle extension and the upper extension. The middle and top sections could be spread out by means of cables attached to winch handles, and the pitch of the ladder could also be changed.

The escape was the principal rescue ladder of the Brigade. They continued in service with minor amendments for most of the 20th century, until they were withdrawn from service in the mid-1980s.