What are the Benefits of Poles?

POLES ARE FASTER

• Poles deliver responders from the busiest areas on the second level directly to the apparatus
  
  
• Properly located poles maximize the number of people exiting the building during calls (increased volume)
  
  
• Properly located poles substantially reduce response times (decreased time)
  
  
• Poles can be placed anywhere in a station. Stairs by their nature are placed at the edge of the building or apparatus bay.
  
  
• Count all the steps laterally and vertically when using stairs . . . Distance = Time
  
  

POLES ARE SAFER

• Much like any other equipment in the first responder tool box, training is integral for the effective use of slide poles. When used by properly trained personnel, the increased volume and speed demanded during calls does not compromise the safety of poles.
  
  
• Poles eliminate bottlenecks and allow smooth flow of personnel responding to a call
  
  
• Poles eliminate the multiple opportunities for accidents that occur with the use of stairs
  
  
• Using stairs requires running down hallways, around corners, through multiple doorways, skipping steps, and moving across obstructed and often wet apparatus bays, increasing the likelihood of injury
  
  
• Count all the steps laterally and vertically when using stairs . . . Distance = Danger
  
  

POLES ARE COST SAVING SOLUTIONS FOR CITIES AND TOWNS

• Poles allows two-story stations to have a smaller footprint that are thus greener, cheaper to build, and easier to heat and cool
  
  
• Poles eliminate the need for larger or multiple stairwells that are only needed for peak downward capacity during calls
  
  
• Count the space laterally and vertically needed for stairs . . . Distance = Cost
  
  
• Our poles and finishes are durable and designed to last the lifetime of a station
  
  
• When responding to a call “seconds count”, and what is the true value of those seconds? Multiply the seconds saved by the number of calls per day, per month, per year, and over the life of the station. When comparing this to the cost of adding a slide pole to a station, the benefits are obvious.
  
  

POLES ARE IMPORTANT TO THE STATION AND COMMUNITY

• Poles are attractive and a point of pride for first responders
  
  
• Poles are a magnet of interest for visitors to the station
  
  
• Poles demonstrate the importance that first responders place on reacting quickly to the needs of their community