Firefighter Ladders and tieing the Halyard

Portable Ladders and Halyards
If you are studying for a firefighter exam, you know that the proper way to deploy a extension ladder, is as follows;
A) Select the proper ladder for the job
B) Remove the ladder from the apparatus
C) Carry the ladder to the worksite.
D) Raise the ladder (which may involve untying the halyard).
E) Extend the ladder and position.
F) Tie the halyard.






I was recently at a course, where the instructor, advised, that during emergency situation, the time that is spent dealing with tying of the halyard could probably be spent more efficiently doing something else.  Sure untying and tying off the halyard only takes seconds but since the halyard's only purpose is to raise the fly, then what is the point of tying it off, other than just getting it out of the way.

The following is copied directly from a firerescue 1 article;

On an extension ground ladder, the halyard is tied off to secure the fly section to the bed section when not in use. It is common to use a clove hitch knot, incorporating the halyard in the middle of the knot with the clove hitch tied around the third or fourth rung up from the bottom of the ladder.

This adds time when trying to deploy and raise the ladder. The time it takes to untie the knot, unwrap the rope and then extend the ladder will complicate the operation.

Instead, try tying the halyard around only the bottom rung of the bed section. This allows the ladder to be extended without having to untie the knot, thus saving time in the operation. If the rope needs to be tied off after the raise, the halyard can be tied using a clove hitch on a bight.
https://www.firerescue1.com/fire-products/ladders/tips/97635039-Different-way-to-tie-the-halyard/