So, firemen sliding down the pole has been deemed "too dangerous" by a station in the UK. They'll now have to run downstairs, which is somehow safer??

Here's the article from the UK "Daily Mail"....

Station bosses ban fireman pole amid health and safety fears
13:34pm 4th August 2006

Barmy fire chiefs came under a blaze of criticism today after they banned the traditional fireman's pole - because it posed a 'health and safety hazard'.

Firefighters risk their lives every day but bosses overseeing the construction of a new £2.4 million station ruled the poles are too dangerous.

It is feared someone may slip off and hurt themselves, get repetitive back strain, turn an ankle or, heaven forbid, suffer severe chaffing to the hands and or thighs.

Staff will now have to run down the stairs of the new Greenbank Fire Station in Plymouth, Devon, raising concerns that vital seconds will be lost on their way to a 999 emergency call.

Greenbank Station Officer Ken Mulville (CRT) said: "It is ludicrous - we were all flabbergasted to find we will have to run down the stairs now.

"I would say it takes about half a second to slide down a pole and at least 20 seconds to run down two flights of stairs.

"At the end of the day seconds could be critical when responding to a 999 call." Station Officer Mulville believes using the stairs in an emergency will actually prove more dangerous than sliding down a pole.

He said: "In more than thirty years in the brigade I have seen one or two accidents on poles compared to tens of accidents with people tripping on stairs while responding to incidents."

Many new fire stations are being built on a single level, doing away with the need for a pole. But with stations like Greenbank, where there are three floors, the vast majority still employ a pole as the quickest and easiest way of getting down to the engine and out to an emergency.

Assistant Divisional Officer Ali Macdonald, the Plymouth area commander for Devon Fire and Rescue, insists the new set-up is far better for the health and safety needs of the firefighters.

He said: "Greenbank is one of the fastest stations in the city.

"I would guarantee that there would be a significant number of injuries from poles and the station has been running for nearly two months with stairs with no accidents."

Children visiting the station were banned from using the poles - once the star attraction of a school trip to the local fire brigade - several years ago.

But firefighters, trained to cope with situations of extreme danger, never believed they would fall under the same molly-coddling rules.

Trevor French, from the Fire Brigades Union, said: "This is a long tradition - firefighters have always had sliding poles and it is very sad that it has come to this.

"Poles are a huge part of the image of the fire service - whenever you see us on the television there is always a shot of a firefighter sliding down a pole. It is a big shame.

"We used to have school visits and let the children slide down the poles, but that was stopped a few years ago, so it isn't surprising really I suppose.

"Sadly we have to bow down to the superiority of the bosses in dealing with health and safety issues in the workplace.

"It seems that in this situation the powers that be have decided a pole is not the safest option."

Sad departure

The loss of their pole marks a sad departure for the firefighters of Greenbank Road, Plymouth, who have had one in their old station since it was built in the 1930s.

Devon Fire and Rescue Service has spent £2.4million on rebuilding the Greenbank station which opened in June - but returning crews were shocked to find they had failed to put in traditional poles.

One firefighter, who did not want to be named, said: "It seems crazy to say its too dangerous to have a pole when we make our living from running into burning buildings."

The modern new station includes a community room fitted out with a multi-media projection system and a better equipped kitchen.

Not all stations have poles, they are omitted from some smaller buildings and single storey structures, but it is common to include them at larger stations like Greenbank which has three floors.

All the other three fire stations in the city of Plymouth - Crownhill, Camels Head and Plympton - have been allowed to keep their poles.

Crews slide from one floor to the next before stepping across a landing and sliding down to the next level - some stations have two sets of poles. Rest rooms at Greenbank are on the third floor, meaning firefighters have to run down two flights of stairs for incidents at night.

But fire chiefs say the design of Greenbank station was changed part way through the project so that the firefighters' rooms were moved from the first floor to the top floor.

It meant it was too late to put pole drops in the station - but they deny using the stairs is any slower say response times prove it.

Devon's Chief Fire Officer Paul Young said: "This story has been taken out of all proportion. There is no Service policy which dictates that new fire stations in the future will not have poles.

"A judgement is made during the design of each station. In the nine years I have been Chief Fire Officer of Devon, we have built two fire stations where firefighters occupy the premises 24 hours a day - Exmouth has a pole and Greenbank doesn't.

"The Fire Brigades Union and Station Health and Safety Representatives were intimately involved in the discussions for the design of the new station at Greenbank.

"As a consequence, the interests of the firefighters were taken into account at all times. The evidence is that there has been no increase in response times as a consequence of not having a traditional pole.

"The design of each station is determined by a whole host of issues and the fact that there isn't a pole at Greenbank doesn't mean there will never be poles at fire stations in the future."

West Midlands Fire Service has the longest fireman's pole in Europe at Birmingham with a 40ft drop.

The first firemen's poles are thought to have been introduced in London when fire engines were horse-drawn and firemen lived above the stables.