hook and ladder

a fire engine, usually a tractor-trailer, fitted with long, extensible ladders and other equipment.

Also called hook-and-ladder truck, ladder truck.

Origin of hook and ladder

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

A pumper and a hook-and-ladder truck swung around the corner, lurching to a stop.

The Secret Pact |Mildred A. Wirt
The last he saw of the cab or of the cabman was near the house of the hook-and-ladder company east of the French Market.

Waring's Peril |Charles King
The fire alarm had been given and several engines and a hook-and-ladder company dashed on the scene.

Joe The Hotel Boy |Horatio Alger Jr.
A hook-and-ladder company now coming up, an effort was made to clap a ladder against the fugitive, but it could not be done.

Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 13, June 25, 1870 |Various

She looked at that telephone like a person in the fourth story of a house afire looks at the hook-and-ladder man.

The Annals of Ann |Kate Trimble Sharber