Bronto Skylift explains how aerial firefighting platforms support safer firefighter access, elevated suppression and improved operational control across urban, industrial and port environments
Fire and rescue services face incidents where restricted access and height can affect firefighter safety. Urban areas include tall buildings and façades that can be difficult to reach from ground level. Industrial sites, including ports and petrochemical facilities, add hazardous materials and restricted approach routes.
Their value is no longer defined only by height. A platform creates a safer operating position, places crews or monitors where they are needed and delivers extinguishing agents from a controlled location.
Why aerial firefighting platforms are designed for different operational risks
Fire risks vary between regions and operating environments. A municipal fire service in a dense city centre faces different demands from an emergency team protecting a refinery or port. The equipment must reflect those differences.
Truck-mounted aerial platforms have become an established option for fire departments because they combine extinguishing capacity with rescue capability. With vertical reach ranging from 28 to more than 100 metres and the ability to reach below ground level, they can be used across high-rise buildings and difficult access points.
Stefano Leporale, Fire & Rescue Director at Bronto Skylift, identifies versatility as the defining factor in urban response: “The urban landscape holds a multitude of structures requiring the utmost versatility from firefighting equipment. Versatility is the single most important benefit of an aerial platform.”
That versatility concerns configuration as well as movement. Pump capacity, water and foam systems, cage design and control options can be adapted to the risk the platform is expected to address.
Configuring aerial firefighting platforms for municipal and industrial response
Municipal and industrial firefighting place different technical demands on aerial equipment.
In municipal environments, platforms must support rescue and suppression at the same time. They need to be lighter and manoeuvrable, with the ability to work around confined streets and restricted access points. Integrated cage systems allow crews to work at height with their equipment, supporting rescue operations from a stable position.
In industrial environments, the main demand is often high-output suppression. Fires in petrochemical or oil and gas settings can involve hazardous materials and pressurised systems. These incidents require high water discharge capacity, foam application and the monitor positioned at a safe distance from heat or toxic atmospheres.
Industrial aerial platforms are often built with larger water and foam capacity and higher pump performance. In some industrial models, the rescue cage can be omitted in favour of water and foam towers, with powder systems added where the risk profile requires them.
How aerial firefighting platforms improve urban and industrial fire access
In a high-rise incident, internal access can be delayed, obstructed or unsafe. An aerial platform gives crews an external route to the working area and allows firefighting or rescue tasks to be carried out from a controlled elevated position.
The cage is central to municipal use. It allows personnel and equipment to be positioned at height, supporting rescue work and suppression without relying solely on internal stairwells or fixed systems.
Industrial incidents can develop in environments where direct approach exposes firefighters to radiant heat, toxic smoke or unstable structures. Aerial platforms reduce that exposure by placing the extinguishing system above or beyond the hazard.
In petrochemical and oil and gas operations, integrated foam systems allow elevated application onto pressurised tanks, loading racks or pipeline manifolds. Remote control and camera options allow the unit to be operated from a distance, keeping firefighters further from the hazard area.
Ports present a different set of access problems. Standard pumpers may struggle to reach parts of the incident ground, particularly where the target is above deck level or below the surrounding surface. An aerial platform gives fire and rescue services a way to apply water or foam from height onto ships or port-side structures.
How Hamburg Fire and Rescue Service uses the Bronto F70RPX
Hamburg Fire and Rescue Service provides a practical example of how an aerial platform can be configured around local operating conditions. The service operates one of the tallest aerial rescue platforms in Germany, the Bronto F70RPX, known locally as the TMF 70. The 70-metre platform was developed in close cooperation with Hamburg and tailored to the city’s requirements.
The F70RPX can operate in winds up to 12.5 m/s. An integrated anemometer monitors wind speed continuously and automatically limits movement if conditions exceed the safe threshold. The Bronto+ control system monitors outrigger width, boom angle, platform load and other operating parameters to support safe deployment.
For Hamburg, the platform was acquired to close a defined operational need. Lars Scheugl, Instructor at Hamburg Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The F70RPX is a great acquisition for us. It improves our ability to reach high places and is vital for the city of Hamburg.”
The platform provides a working height of 70 metres and a horizontal outreach of 33 metres. At 40 metres, the boom still delivers 28 metres of outreach, supporting up-and-over access across roofs and façades. The water monitor can provide a throw distance of up to 100 metres using water, foam or a combined mixture. The unit also includes an integrated Cobra Cutting System. This uses high-pressure water mixed with abrasive material to cut through walls or roofs from the outside, allowing crews to begin attacking a fire without entering the structure.
Operational experience shaping aerial firefighting platform design
The Hamburg platform was jointly designed with technical coordination by Thorsten Ahrens, Technical Procurement of Hamburg Fire and Rescue Service. Scheugl and his team also contributed operational experience from special vehicle use and active firefighting.
This cooperation influenced control logic and cage layout. The aim was to produce a platform suited to Hamburg’s working environment, including industrial facilities and maritime exposure.
The result is a platform that supports work at height and below ground level. The hydraulic outrigger system and control mechanics support stability at full outreach or on uneven terrain.
Scheugl described how this applies in port conditions: “When we’re working here in the harbour, we often face accessibility issues involving ships and various harbour operations. With this unit we can perform rescue operations and other work below ground level.”
After initial training by Bronto Skylift, Hamburg Fire and Rescue Service developed a dedicated training programme for special-purpose vehicles. Clear control layouts and an intuitive control system helped crews bring the unit into service.
Why access and control remain critical in aerial firefighting operations
The role of an aerial platform is best understood through the operational problem it solves. Fire and rescue services need to place crews and extinguishing agents where ground access is limited, unsafe or too slow.
A municipal service may need cage capacity and manoeuvrability for rescue work. An industrial operator may need higher foam output and remote operation. A port authority may need reach above deck level and below quay level.
Height alone does not define capability. Outreach and stability shape how the equipment performs, along with below-ground access and extinguishing output.
Aerial platforms extend operational reach by allowing crews to work from a controlled distance from the hazard. Their value sits in creating access where it is restricted and maintaining control where conditions leave little margin for error.