By now most have seen one of the two videos embedded in this post. As I peruse the various places around social media where it’s posted, reaction has varied from rookie driver quips to comments regarding how the dirt didn’t seem to slow down the rig at all.
As I watched the video, I couldn’t help but recall two instances in my own fire company where we had close calls. One close call was during a hurricane. We were responding to one of 60 or so calls we had overnight, and a tree came down across the bumper of one of our pumpers.
A few years later, I was behind the wheel of one of our pumpers. It was a day when snow was forecast, but the snow that arrived did not match the weather predictions. We were expecting grassy surfaces to be covered. It turned into a heavy wet snow that was taking down tree limbs all over the township and had traffic snarled because it came fast enough that roads were not clear and it was a very slippery snow. En route to one of several calls that were all happening at the same time, I approached an intersection when everyone on the truck heard the popping of tree limbs. Several smaller branches fell in front of me followed by a very large tree limb. (https://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/fire-apparatus/that-was-a-close-one) It’s hard to describe what you’re thinking as you are trying hard to slow down and the truck is just sliding forward, and there’s nothing you can do. As luck would have it, I was able to stop the truck within feet of where the limb landed. As it came down, several things went through my mind in rapid succession. First, it became obvious that the timing was right, and I was not going fast enough for it to hit the truck, but if it did it would probably clip the front bumper. Once that computation went through, and concurrent with trying to stop, I thought, “If I slide, I’m going to hit this tree.” As luck would have it, I did not slide and came to a stop. Before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, a light show started to my left as the wires the tree briefly rested on snapped.
It is nothing short of exceptional to me, and not knowing all of the details of what happened here, that when the truck in the video stopped, it was on all four wheels, and it hadn’t rolled over. It’s also impressive that the truck came to a stop where it did. Some of it was probably luck, but a lot of it had to do with the driver maintaining composure. Also key in this type of situation is the officer riding the seat. When the officer maintains his or her cool, it goes a long way toward the driver being able to concentrate on the task at hand, which is regaining control and keeping the rig from rolling.
These two videos are very dramatic and demonstrate the dangers of coming up on black ice and how to try to maintain control of the vehicle as much as you can. The outcome of this incident was positive overall, although a civilian vehicle did sustain damage. There were no firefighter injuries, which is a testament to the training the operator received from the department.
Here’s what the Rock Community (MO) Fire Protection District had to say about this morning’s accident:
“At approximately 7 a.m. the Rock Community Fire Protection District was dispatched to a still other alarm on the 1700 block of Parkside Place. Upon responding in the inclement weather the Rock Community apparatus began to slide and would eventually strike the car involved in the original accident and come to a stop. There is no structural damage to report during this incident and both the fire truck involved and the original car involved both sustained damage. No injuries were reported during this incident for anyone involved.”
The Rock Community Fire Chief Kevin Wingbermuehle issued the following statement:
“Regarding this morning’s incident involving our apparatus, I am first grateful that there were no injuries to our personnel or citizens. I appreciate your continued support and prayers for the safety of our personnel as they continue to place themselves in harm’s way, every day, to protect your lives and property.
The involved apparatus has a gross vehicle rating of more than 56,000 pounds.
While the situation was undoubtedly harrowing, it underscores the exemplary professional capabilities and training of our personnel. The adeptness displayed by the apparatus operator in making swift decisions and maintaining composure is truly commendable and unequivocally prevented a much more serious outcome.
The crew involved is transitioning to a backup apparatus and will soon resume their duties on the streets.
I encourage you to share the video of this incident with others as it provides a pivotal opportunity to highlight the daily challenges and hazards faced by firefighters, the inherent risks in adverse weather conditions, and importance of being prepared.”
