A video has surfaced of Wednesday's rollover of the Abilene Fire Department brush truck that Wildfire Today covered yesterday.
After watching the video it is incredible that the two firefighters standing on the back of the truck sustained only minor injuries. All three on the truck were treated and released at a local hospital.
The fire department is still assessing the damage to the 2000 model truck.
Since it is likely the fire was caused by a train, according to the Abilene FD, I wonder if the fire department is going to ask the railroad to pay for the medical bills of the three firefighters and the damage to the truck? Railroads have been getting away with starting uncountable fires for a long time. Some fire departments just assume that's the way it is, but most fires caused by trains are preventable. The railroads need to be held accountable and they need to implement preventive maintenance measures to reduce the number of fires they start.
Wildfire Today has written about the train-caused fire problem before. There are ways to get the attention of the railroads. In 2008 the Department of Justice settled a record $102 million civil lawsuit with the Union Pacific railroad for starting the 52,000 acre Storrie fire in the Plumas and Lassen National Forests in 2000. Other lawsuits have also been filed against railroads for negligently starting fires.
We wish for a speedy recovery for the three injured firefighters with the Abilene Fire Department.
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6 comments:
driver needs to learn a lesson from !!watch!! where he is going.
Several issues here. This is why firefighters should not ride on the trucks to fight fire. Second, why was the engine operating in the location it was? The driver should have been aware of the weight distributions with the water in the tank and how it would affect the vehicles operability. NO FIRE IS WORTH GETTING HURT OR KILLED OVER! Stuff, especially grass and trees can be replaced!
out west thy (the railroad) has water tanks that spray water as thy go!
Check out this company's website. www.grasstruck.com It appears they have the answers to these problems; low center of gravity and jump seats with lap belts and a roll cage for the crew.
As a young firefighter decades ago, I was strapped onto an M-64 Willys Jeep that was converted into a firefighting mission. It had full rollover protection as well as seatbelts for the "suicide seats" on the front quarter panels.
As the driver blissfully drove forward attacking a standing grain (wheat) fire while being protected from the radiant heat, the skin on my face, arms, and legs were blistered.
It scares me that a company still offers such apparatus buildups, and that fire departments are still using tactics that kill and injure firefighters.
NFPA 1901 and 1906 have banned outside riding since the time they banned riding on tailboards...
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