Fire Station Sliding Pole

[JAE]

Does anyone have any knowledge of a design standard for brass fire station sliding pole? Specifically I'm looking for the lateral load imparted by a fire fighter when approaching, grabbing, and slidind down.

 

[JStephen]

Do they actually still use those? They won't let ironworkers slide down beams any more.

 

[TXStructural]

Equivalent static load would probably be about 2x the weight of the firefighter, as with any suddenly-applied load. As for a standard, I'm not familiar with any, and my Google-fu didn't find anything.

For lateral load, you could probably use the pole capacity in bending as the basis for lateral load, since it won't transmit more load than the pole itself could withstand.

 

[JAE]

TXStructural - that is what I was thinking - I ended up using 500 lbs. lateral. The pole being a possible weak link in the load path is a good approach but I don't have all the pole length data.

I also googled the heck out of it and came up zero.

 

[Ron]

JAE...the anchoring flange for a firepole has 4, 1/4-inch diameter holes. You can back-calculate a lateral load based on the shear strength of a 1/4" anchor.

 

[bridgebuster]

A manufacturer's website:

http://www.slidepole.com/

 

[dik]

I've used your approach for some items, but with a pole and the height of the loading, you may find that the pole fails well in advance of the fastener...

Have to be careful with going down one... about 50 years back a fireman once told me that they sometimes have fractures from 'bad' use of them (just before I used one at the old local firehall).

Dik

 

[msquared48]

Yea. I heard they have demonstration classes on the proper use of them at the local bar.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[bridgebuster]

Mike - is it a demonstration on pole sliding or pole dancing?

 

[msquared48]

There's a difference?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[Brad805]

I would guess the demonstration force at the bar would be at least 50% less than the typical fireman. Well, at least at the demo bars I would attend. Then again, that might not be the case since I was told that the ones at the bars are usually only anchored at the base.

Brad

 

[msquared48]

JAE:

In addition to Ron's suggestion, it would be possible with, say three volunteers of known weights, say 175, 200 and 250# (you coule throw in 120# too if you wanted), a light, a black background with a lateral deflection scale, combined with trigonometry, to determine the actual lateral deflection of the pole under use, and see what the actual lateral force to weight ratio is.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[msquared48]

In fact, you could even be one of the volunteers!

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[racookpe1978]

Butt how would you measure the pole's sideways deflection without creating undue friction resistance to the barroom pole dancer (er, firehouse pole slider) ?
\
Would not you need a remote sensor or reflection-based device so the pole remains interference free? Friction free?

(Seriously, a 250 lb barroom pole user? )