Abstract: An aerial boom system for a fire-fighting vehicle which has a hollow piercing nozzle on the outer end thereof for passing through the wall of a structure such as an aircraft fuselage to the interior of the structure where a fire-retardant material may be injected. The nozzle may pierce the fuselage from a remote distance because of the extensible boom. It has thereon a torque limiter to protect the nozzle assembly when forces are applied to the nozzle assembly in a direction transverse to the piercing direction.

Abstract: An aerial lift for use with a vehicle for positioning the nozzle on the outer end of an upper boom coupled at its inner end to the outer end of a lower boom with selectively raising and lowering the lower boom in a plane from and above the horizontal and rotating the lower boom about a vertical axis, and independently articulating the upper boom about its inner end with respect to the lower boom such that the upper boom is selectively movable above and below the horizontal plane.

Abstract: An extendable, elevatable and rotatable boom carrying at its outer end a basket which is longitudinally collapsible in order to reduce the longitudinal space occupied by the collapsible basket, the boom and basket being adapted to be mounted on a rescue crash or service vehicle having a cab. The collapsible basket may be stored behind the cab with the boom in storage position behind the basket and both the boom and basket when stored, extending upwardly no further than the cab. The cab, with the basket positioned above at least a part of the cab, may have means providing access between the cab and basket, such as a sliding panel of the top of the cab and pivotal front and rear bottom plates of the basket.

Abstract: An aerial apparatus swingable outwardly of a fire truck chassis is stabilized by outriggers on opposite sides of the chassis with the aerial apparatus being swingable to one side or the other only if an extendible section of an outrigger for that side has been moved relative to its base section from a storage position to a fully extended outrigging position on that side. The swinging of the apparatus to a side of the chassis is enabled by withdrawing stop means which is spring urged into the path of rotation of the apparatus to that side. The withdrawal of the stop means is actuated mechanically by means on the extendible section engaging and moving an actuating rod carried by the base section for the extendible section to effect operation of a linkage to withdraw the stop means against its spring bias. On retraction of the extendible section from its fully extended position, the spring urged stop means resets as the extendible section leaves the fully extended position.

Abstract: A fire truck includes an aerial ladder mounted on a rotatable base and outriggers on each side of the truck to stabilize the ladder in use. The outriggers may be deployed on only one side of the vehicle to permit use in confined areas. The ladder base is interlocked with the outriggers to permit the ladder to be positioned only on the side of the fire truck stabilized by the deployed outriggers. A retractable pin is connected through a mechanical linkage to each outrigger. Stop blocks mounted on opposite sides of the rotatable base contact any extended pins. Rotation of the base is thereby confined to a sector where the pins have been retracted by deployment of the associated outriggers. Small auxiliary jacks on each side of the fire truck are deployed in response to deployment of the outriggers on the opposite side of the truck. The jacks provide stability when the aerial ladder is used as a water tower for supporting a high pressure hose.

Abstract: A lower boom is pivotally mounted on a turntable and moved upwardly and downwardly by a hydraulic cylinder, the lower end of which may be pivoted on the same pivot shaft as that on which a pair of links are pivoted. The outer ends of the links are pivotally connected to the lower end of a knee joint, preferably formed of heavy plate and attached to the inner end of an upper boom, while the outer end of the lower boom is pivotally attached to the knee joint above the links. An extensible boom, hydraulically moved inwardly and outwardly of the upper boom, may carry a workman's basket and/or a hydraulic nozzle, as for extinguishing fires.