Ooops: Boston FD ladder truck accident

[Ford45]

I was reading the artical on firehouse.com about the loaner ladder truck in Boston that drove under a bridge it shoudn't have. It was a loaner from pierce, and damage is estimated at $20,00 (personally i think its higher, new main, cab will be needed). I know mistakes happen, but i was wondering what you guys think. What are you're opinions?? (Be gentle, though). Peace.

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Matt
Newtown Fire Association
Station 45

[Resq14]

I'm thinking...

had it been an E-One, the bridge wouldn't have stood a chance!


(kidding)

Mistakes happen. Glad no one was seriously injured.

[xenophon13]

Just thinking, but even with it being a loaner the driver operator should have known the height of the truck. But you are right accidents happen and as long as everybody learns from their mistakes it should be ok.

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When the defecation hits the oscillation I'll be there.

[Eng522ine]

Hey... $#!* happens but THANKS GOD I'm not the one that screwed that pooch!!!!

[WFDTruck1]

thank god it was a Pierce, if it was an E-One they would be talking about replacing the whole thing! E-One, if ain't broken....it's a Pierce!

[LtStick]

I'm glad no one was hurt seriously. I wouldn't want to be the one that has to pay to fix that baby and I wouldn't have wanted to be the one to tell Pierce there Fire Truck is broken. I'd imagine someone is going to get a chewing out over this one. Accidents happen and as long as everyone is all right than that's what's most important. The Truck can be fixed and I'm sure when there done it will look as good as new. Heck somebody could probably get a deal on it since it was wrecked. I'd imagine that would knock a few bucks off the price of it.

[bfd1071]

>>thank god it was a Pierce, if it was an E-One they would be talking about replacing the whole thing! E-One, if ain't broken....it's a Pierce<<

Actually, the damage is at close to 230,000 dollars. It did not hold up all that well.

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** The opionions are mine and mine alone, they are not that of my dept or the local**

[Lt Luke]

Let me preface this by stating that i'm not trying to pour gas on the fire about Pierce vs. E-One - IMHO, if it moves water and gets you to the roof who cares !!!
Now, does any one know the differences in travel height, I'd guess the unfortunate crew normally operates a ladder with a much lower travel height.

[Brian Dunlap]

Thats why we call 'em accidents....Stuff Happens...Should the operator have been aware of what he was driving ? Yes..But having been re-routed from one incident to another down a street not normally travled by this company I feel the Driver took the best route he knew to arrive at the call {Or at least that was his intention} Glad to see No one suffered Serious Injuries and I guess Boston FD may want to re-consider purchasing this model Ladder {Although they probably bought this one} ---

[Resq14]

Originally posted by bfd1071:
Actually, the damage is at close to 230,000 dollars. It did not hold up all that well.

oh my! $230k? OUCH! I'd say she didn't hold up that well. Does Pierce conduct any crash testing or stuff like that? I know some manufacturers do. Granted, it's kind of an atypical collision.

Now I'm not picking on Pierce, but check out the damage to their truck when it rolled: http://www.hyattsvillevfd.org/truck_accident.html
Rolling a fire truck probably creates incredible stress on the frame, but, this is some pretty severe damage -- especially to the cab. Again, glad everyone survived.

[This message has been edited by Resq14 (edited 03-25-2001).]

[RJE]

I thought I saw in the story on FH.com that they were out of their normal response district?

Anyway, here's my two cents.

1) FAO should be aware of the height of his vehicle, and observe the clearance signs that are required to be on all "non-standard" clearance bridges (I also seem to remember seeing that the clearance was properly posted).

2) Pre-plan. FAOs during driver training should become familiar with ALL areas of concern along their routes. That means in their 1st response district, and in all districts around it. That means all low bridges, dangerous curves, blind intersections, weak bridges (we once dropped a tanker in a culvert because the bridge wouldn't hold it - but it was a "private" bridge up a farmer's drive), etc. And know how to handle them or an alternate route around them.

So, the FAOs at fault?

Not really.

3) FAOs should be given time to get familiar with new apparatus - in this case, that's what he was doing with a loaner truck, but... how much time did he have? I can't imagine Pierce let them have the truck for a year. And I bet his wasn't the only company that got to "play" with it. Now, if this happened with his regular rig....

4) The city is also responsible. There's no reason for any major municipality to leave old, sub-standard bridges in place. And I know this one is, or else they approved it for new construction that way. Either way, that's just plain stupid. DOT standard is 13'6". That 11'9"? truck shouldn't have had a problem. Time for the city to get to work replacing the bridge - especially as it's on a thoroughfare.

I'm not surprised about the damage. No truck is designed to hold its weight on the roof. When the ladder hit the bridge, it was driven down into the cab. So you've got a crunched ladder and a crunched cab. That's roughly equivalent to a rollover, so the damage is actually pretty modest, as is the repair estimate.

So what can the rest of us learn from this - (the sign of true genius - learning from OTHER's mistakes) - PRE-PLAN, PRE-PLAN, PRE-PLAN, even out of district - including alternate routes. That, and lobby your local governments to "fix" hazards along those routes, whatever they may be.

[LHS*]

Yeah the FAO was a victim. You always dive under the overpass as fast as possible or over the the bridge before you determine whether the vehicle will make it. Gosh, you can't question a professional.

Call a spade a spade. If you crew up admit it. Quit covering for every silly act. If the building is fully involved and you send guys inside it should be murder not heroic.
If it is under you to read the signs or wear an air pack maybe you ought to find another career.

[buddygamms]

I just think that if you are driving a rig, whether it is yours or not you should know every thing about it. Especial if you know you have that kind of hazard by your fire house, you SHOULD know the height of your rig

[Fireboy422]

I don't feel bad for that guy, I rolled an Oshkosh CFR truk in January, it cost $400,000+ to repair, and we had to get two "new" trucks to cover our FAA regulations. Some things you just kinda got to chalk up to exerience and moove on with, the point is you all made it home.

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-FF D. Betka
NSFD
Norton Shores, MI

[jj1967]

Having put a scratch and dent or two on apparatus in several states, I can feel for the Operator on this truck. (Though thankfully my problems have both been in reverse gear at very low speeds and didn't cost near 230 grand- I've been as embarassed as he probably is.)

Having said that, I do wish some folks would lighten up. Ever been to Boston? There is no one who is capable of knowing every inch of his own district, much less every inch of neighboring districts. The main lesson here is-buy midmounts, they're a lot lower.