​The pompier ladder, also known as a scaling or hook ladder, was invented in France and introduced into the U.S. fire service in 1877. It consists of a single central beam with short, staggered rungs projecting alternately from each side. A large gooseneck hook is attached to the top and is designed to be secured over a window sill. As buildings grew taller during the 1800s, the pompier ladder became a specialized tool for rescuing occupants from windows beyond the reach of conventional aerial ladders. The firefighter drives the hook into the window above, climbs to the opening, and straddles the sill. The ladder is then raised to the next window, allowing the firefighter to repeat the process until reaching the intended destination. The pompier ladder was introduced to the United States in 1877 by Lieutenant Christ Hoell of the St. Louis Fire Department. Hoell learned to use the ladder and its techniques while serving with the Elberfeld Fire Department in Germany.

Invented approximately 50 years earlier, the ladder had been widely used throughout Germany. At age 27, Hoell emigrated to the United States and settled in St. Louis, where he worked as a stonemason before joining the St. Louis Fire Department. In 1877, two major fires in the city prompted him to recommend training firefighters to use the pompier ladder. By December of the following year, then-Lieutenant Hoell had trained the members of Hook and Ladder Companies 3 and 4, establishing the first pompier crew in service in the United States. After completing this training, Hoell was granted leave by the St. Louis Fire Department to train members of the FDNY in the use of the ladder. New York’s first rescue using the ladder occurred on April 7, 1884, and the last was recorded on December 15, 1967. The FDNY continued carrying pompier ladders on its trucks until July 11, 1996. The Boston Fire Department still uses the pompier ladder in recruit training. The ladder was phased out of general service during the 20th century because of safer aerial ladders, interior stairwells, and modern building codes.

Historically, the Los Angeles Fire Department incorporated pompier ladders into its training programs and drills and carried them on its ladder trucks. The San Francisco Fire Department similarly used pompier ladders in recruit training and carried them on its trucks. On the West Coast, Portland Fire and Rescue also used pompier ladders. The Charlotte Fire Department continues to use them in recruit training, while metropolitan fire departments on the East Coast used them historically. In Marin County, the only documented use of a pompier ladder is a historical photograph of San Rafael’s 1922 Stutz engine, which displays a small pompier ladder. Larkspur Fire also possesses a pompier ladder.