How to play Hook & Ladder

Race a long articulated fire truck across the city. Every alarm requires a drive. Follow blue street arrows to the call. Navigate corners, staggered parked cars and moving traffic, then stop both axles in the highlighted area parallel to the curb. Hold still briefly to set up on the same city map. P1 moves the ladder with WASD and holds Space to grab the person. P2 aims the hose with arrows and holds Enter to spray. Do both in either order to complete the call. Fast arrivals and clean driving score more points. Miss three calls or reach 100% truck damage and the shift ends. The city has twice the original area, with moving traffic that yields to the truck.

Controls

P1 — driver: W accelerates. S brakes, then reverses. A/D steer the front wheels. Space brakes without reversing. When parked: WASD moves the ladder; hold Space over the person to grab them. E packs up and returns to driving.
P2 — tillerman: Left/right arrows adjust the rear wheels. Release to hold that steering angle; use the opposite arrow to straighten them. Coordinate with the driver to clear tight corners. When parked: arrows aim the hose; hold Enter over the fire to spray.
Recovery: R returns a stuck truck to an intersection and costs five seconds. P pauses.
Touch: The left pad drives or moves the ladder; Brake/Grab stops or rescues. The right pad steers or aims the hose; Spray fires the hose. Drive packs up.

Calls and warnings

Apartment rescues, warehouse fires, rooftop evacuations and tight-access calls rotate through the shift. Later calls specify the side of the building to approach; rooftop calls can have two people to rescue. The blue street route updates as you drive. At 75% damage the truck alarm sounds; the final ten seconds of a call have an audible countdown. Muting silences these alarms.

Driving tips

Watch the trailer. The cab can clear a corner while the trailer clips it. P2 can steer the tail wide.
Back up carefully. Reversing can increase the bend at the hitch. Use small steering inputs and pull forward to straighten the rig. At the hitch limit, further folding stops the truck.
Park the whole rig. Both axles must be inside the marked zone, nearly parallel to the curb, and stopped to set up the ladder and hose. Rescue and spray in either order.
Keep moving between calls. The next alarm appears on the same city map. Clean calls earn a 150-point bonus. Every completed call also earns 50 garage credits.

About tiller trucks

A tiller, or tractor-drawn aerial, is a ladder truck built like a semi with a second driver at the very back. The tillerman sits above the rear axle and steers the trailer's wheels, which is what lets a rig that long snake through old city streets and around double-parked cars. Fire departments in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington still run them for exactly that reason. Driver and tillerman talk over an intercom the whole ride, and in a tight turn the tillerman steers the opposite way to the driver so the tail swings clear. Hook & Ladder puts those two seats on one keyboard.

Frequently asked

How do I play Hook & Ladder? Drive to each alarm and park both axles in the marked area. P1 moves the ladder and grabs the person; P2 aims and sprays the hose. Finish both in either order before time runs out.

What is a tiller fire truck? A ladder truck with a second steering position at the back. The tillerman steers the trailer's rear wheels so a truck the length of a semi can turn down narrow streets. In a turn the tillerman steers opposite to the driver so the tail swings wide.

Is Hook & Ladder free? Yes — no signup, no downloads, no installs.

Does my high score save? Yes — your best score is stored locally in your browser.

🚒 Hook & Ladder