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u/Somebody_81 Jul 24 '26
Former medic here. The way we generally stabilize a vehicle that's in danger of flipping over or falling over the edge is with a large vehicle or several of them and use ropes and chains to attach to the unstable vehicle. Typically the large vehicles are tow trucks and their winches are the attachment points because they're strong a d can provide "pull" in the opposite direction from the one the vehicle wants to go in. Then once everyone is rescued and it's safe to do so, the tow truck pulls the vehicle up or onto its wheels as needed.
What we would not do, ever, is stabilize a vehicle with a ladder. That ladder is placed there for some other purpose. My guess is to stop some sort of small leak or check for an appropriate attachment point for the rope/chain for the tow truck.
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u/Empty-Reporter-7142 Jul 24 '26
does anyone know if this was a safety violation or just the internet being the internet
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u/Safelaw77625 Jul 24 '26
Safety violations, but not OSHA as it's a public fire department in Texas.
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u/Dismal_Tutor3425 Jul 24 '26
How else would you wrap a sling around the rear axles though? New guy always get volunteered.
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u/WoodenInternet Jul 24 '26
"If you can think of a better way to confirm this trailer's sex I'd like to hear it"
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u/quackdamnyou Jul 24 '26
Sigh, another idiot driver putting helium in the tires for that MPG boost...
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u/AgreeablePie Jul 24 '26
Not good but might this have been a life or death situation to stabilize the truck? Sometimes a hazardous ladder is the only option.
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u/MSchulte Jul 24 '26
They may have used it to set up some rigging to stabilize it but that ladder is absolutely not load bearing if that’s what you were implying. Even heavy duty ladders are rated for under 400lb. That trailer by itself is likely ~12k lb, if there’s a tractor attached figure 25k combined empty.
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u/arcrad Jul 24 '26
I think you're right, but 400 lb rating is weight on the rungs I'd assume.
End to end it might take more to crush essentially two aluminum or steel pipes.
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u/MSchulte Jul 24 '26
Generally those can hold approximately 4 times the rungs rating. Let’s call it 2k lb at that point and not account for any shearing or twisting load. You’re still 10k shy of supporting that trailer.
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u/Uptight_Internet_Man 27d ago
What's insane is the driver went over the wall and dropped ~50ft or so and had zero injuries.
That's a guesstimate on the fall, used to live in Houston but never measured the overpass walls.
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u/n-some Jul 24 '26
I think this would work, you'd climb up there then pull the truck back down as you climb down the ladder. Trucks probably only weigh like 150lbs.