Oops! Fire Truck Goes Up In Flames

[Amelia]

Oops! Fire Truck Goes Up In Flames

May 5, 2005

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) It may have been the quickest fire response ever—when Oregon City firefighters found flames coming out of their own fire station.

The Clackamas County Dispatch called the fire station this morning to tell them an alarm was coming from their own station.

Captain Jamie Karn says they found one of the fire engines had caught fire. They used another engine to put out the flames.

But not before hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage was caused to the fire engine—and the station.

Three firefighters suffered minor smoke inhalation, but they’ll be OK.

Karn says the flames appeared to come from the engine compartment of the fire truck. It was destroyed.

[:"blue"]* Not too far down the highway from me. [/]

[james423]

Fire trucks are not that much different from other trucks of the same kind. They can have their problems, too. It has been interesting just to see what happens in our own (rural) county fire department:

1. One of our fire trucks nearly rammed the fire in a trash dumpster after our captain applied the brakes too often coming down an 8% mountain grade (the brakes had glazed temporarily from the heat).

2. Our tanker took to the ditch with 4 tons of water (1300 gal) on board after hitting a woman who backed out right in front of the truck even though the sirens and lights were going. The truck was pulled out of the ditch with only a small dent in one running board. The woman? She was high (and that is the word to use) on prescription drugs. She couldn't be arrested because our driver took the key out of her car's ignition to prevent her from leaving the scene.

3. Our sister fire company on the mountain went to fight a fire on that 8% mountain highway I mentioned earlier. While they were earnestly fighting the fire, they noticed their hoses disappearing. The truck was running away down the grade - they had forgotten to put wheel chocks under the wheels.

4. A driver in that same fire company lost control of a fire truck, hit the ditch, and flipped the truck end for end. He suffered broken ribs - the truck was destroyed.

Fire companies suffer the same problems other people do - that's the only conclusion I can come to.

[Amelia]

James, james, james. You have to see the big humorous picture. Its perfect irony to have the fire truck go up in flames in the fire house and have to be notified by another fire dept.

[james423]

I know, but some people put emergency vehicles in a special class.

[Naomi]

Amelia I do see the irony and humor in the situation.

And, can appreciate the humor in James' accounts as well. My father was a 50 year member of the local rural volunteer department. There were many stories that were funny ONLY after the fact.