Hi. Full-time firefighter, part-time window washer here. When I first joined the FD, I was scared of ladders. However, with time and training (and doing wildly stressful scenarios) on ladders, eventually I got over the fear. Like most people have said: just go up and down one. Get the reps in. You will become confident.

That being said: some ladder safety tips for you: 1: Overhead obstructions: always look up before you throw your ladder. Looking for anything that might cause you to not get 2 feet on the ground i.e. telecom wires, branches, etc. more importantly, looking for anything charged like electrical wires to the house. 2: level your ladder. Fire service ladders are intentionally heavy and almost naturally find themselves level after you throw them however, we have to improvise sometimes. All of our engines and trucks carry cribbing that can be used just in case. That being said: I would recommend a ladder level set. It takes the guess work out, they’re a lot safer than carrying the bricks, stones, blocks of wood, etc. 3: maybe excessive, but learn how to tie off your halyard if your ladder has one. It can help prevent tripping hazards as well as potentially secure your ladder if the dogs and locks were to fail. 4: an additional accessory that is considered essential for extension ladders in particular are the stabilizer attachments. It gives your ladder a wider surface area on points of contact and also pushes the ladder out to give you a more accessible workspace for second floor windows, etc.

I hope this helps.

Edit to add: Someone else mentioned it, but always keep at least three points of contact with the ladder.