Pole 1 : (1) A pole, usually brass, used by fire fighters to decend from the upper floors of a fire station to the apparatus floor. (2) A pole used to assist in raising long extension ladders. See also: Crotch Pole, Staypole, Tormentor Pole
Ralph W. Burklin & Robert G. Purington, Fire Terms: A Guide to Their Meaning and Use, National Protection Association, Boston, MA 1980 USA. (Guide: Meaning and Use, Nat Prot Association Fr Srvc - Amer) {457}