FirefighterCloseCalls.Com - Home of the Secret List

Almost Struck by A Drunk

Friday, January 15, 2010

This morning at approx 01:45 my partner and I were posting from one station to another for system status. We were traveling along our local interstate highway at 70 MPH. Traffic was nill. We tailights up ahead and before we knew it we were RIGHT on top of the pickup. I slowed and passed the pickup. My partner and I judged the driver`s speed at about 30 MPH. The interior light was on and 2 people were drinking beers. We notified central and they broadcast the info over the LEO channel. We were then dispatched into the city ( a college town)we were already posting to for a priority 3 (no lights and siren) run. As we entered the city, another pickup was parked on the shoulder of a 4 lane divided business loop. As we approached, the pickup started rolling, sped up and cut across 3 lanes of road and almost side swiped our rig. I had to make an emergency lane change to my left. There was no contact but the other driver was made aware we were in that lane via the air horn. He immidiatly braked and turned into a gas station.....Looking in my right side mirror in amazement for our missed crash, I saw a LEO "light up" that pickup. We made our run, transported and were at the ER when I recieved a call from Central. The officer made an arrest of that driver. It turns out, the initial driver I had called on, a white pickup, was never spotted in town, however, the second pickup that nearly crashed into us was arrested for DWI. The LEO`s brought him into the ER for processing and the LEO and I discussed the events with a laugh. Ironic, I called for a white pickup on the highway that may be impaired, the broadcast is put on the air. LEO`s in town looking for a white pickup arrest the driver of another white pickup that nearly crashed into us.

LESSONS LEARNED:

BE AWARE ON THE ROADS AT ALL TIMES! Even more so at "bar closing time". ALWAYS HAVE AN ESCAPE PLAN IN YOUR HEAD AS YOU DRIVE!! CHECK MIRRORS EVERY 15-20 SECONDS.....You never know when you will need that lane for an emergecny manuver.

Anti-Freeze DOES Burn

Monday, January 11, 2010

Recently we experienced an engine fire in a large haul truck. Other than the overall size of the truck, the basic configuration of the motor, turbocharger, coolant system, etc., is quite similar to other heavy duty trucks.

The fire, and resultant damage, was minor due to quick action by nearby maintenance personnel responding with a dry chem. fire extinguisher. The driver stated he could smell anti-freeze in the cab of the truck, however assumed it was a minor leak and continued to drive the truck to find a good place to pull over to inspect the problem without blocking other traffic. Other personnel that saw the truck go by noticed a coolant leak in the engine compartment (off side mounted engine) and gave notice to the driver via radio. The driver stopped and as he walked around the truck to inspect the problem he saw a fire in the engine compartment. The flames were reported to be a distinctive blue color. The driver stated at no time was there any yellow color to the flames. The fire progressed in size quickly until extinguished w/ a hand held 10 lb. dry chem. FE. The on-board self-contained fire suppression system was not discharged.

An investigation revealed a flex coupling ruptured. This coupling joined two hard lines carrying coolant. Coolant under pressure was sprayed all over the engine compartment including in the vicinity of the turbocharger. The hard lines w/ coupler was located directly on top of the valve cover of the motor. The source of the ignition of the fire could not be determined until information regarding ethylene glycol was researched. Ethylene glycol has an auto-ignition temperature of 748 deg. F., and will flash burn at lower temperatures if atomized in the vicinity of temp.’s at or greater than 250 deg. F. Turbochargers typically demonstrate temperatures well in excess of these numbers. A coolant mix of water and ethylene glycol based anti-freeze in the presence of these high temperatures will decompose the water out of solution and the remaining ethylene glycol may undergo auto-ignition. The resulting fire may be similar to an alcohol fire, resulting in a blue flame.

See below for more information on ethylene glycol. In particular, see the section on “industrial hazards”. All in all I found this article very interesting. Ethylene glycol is used for many purposes other than for coolant, including (at one time) the manufacture of explosives, including dynamite. Something to think about, perhaps, as you are pouring your favorite coolant into your radiator! Read on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene_glycol

Also, this information is taken from the MSDS for CITGO Antifreeze and Coolant (MSDS # 657201001):

All in all we learned some very interesting information from this incident. All heavy truck operators should be advised to stop and investigate any incident of odors of coolant, in the cab or outside the cab in the area of the motor. Report and/or repair leaks immediately. The time spent may save a great deal of damage, even preventing a fire.

Gas Tank Melts at NY Car Fire

Friday, January 8, 2010

The Mineola Fire Department responded to a car fire in front of 52 East 2nd Street Tuesday January 5, 2010 at 2:45 PM. The fire in a late model Nissan melted the gas tank which was full at the time of fire and hampered firefighting operations. The driver of the auto sustained burns to his hands and was transported by Nassau County Police ambulance to Winthrop Hospital.

SEAT BELTS SAVE LIVES!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

On Monday, December 14, 2009 at 0623 Hours, our agency was dispatched to a MVA involving a pickup truck and rolled over semi-tractor trailer with ensuing fire under a turnpike bridge overpass. Initial dispatch was a multi-unit assignment comprised of 2 pumpers, 1 pumper tanker, and the third service ambulance provider. Incident weather conditions consisted of dense fog causing poor visibility and wet/slippery road conditions. All response routes leading to incident scene were 2-lane rural roads with speed limits posted between 45 and 55mph. The tanker pumper [3,000 gal/tandem axle commercial truck design/2005 model] responded with a crew of 2 personnel from the first-due station located approximately 5 miles away. This unit within approximately 1 mile of the incident scene was approaching a sweeping "S" curve at approximately 35mph. When the driver released the accelerator to slow down, the exhaust braking system engaged causing the rear tires to break road traction. The brakes were applied, but the skid on the "black ice" was already in a right-rear motion. As the brakes were applied, the tires came in contact with the off-road surface causing the tires to grab and roll the apparatus to its right side. The unit rolled completely over one full rotation landing upright on its wheels and coming to rest on top of the roadside guardrail. Damage was extensive to all sides of cab and water tank. The guardrail fortunately got entangled with the rear tandem tires which prevented the unit from a continued slide or subsequent rolls down a moderately steep embankment. Additional units were diverted to this call and upon arrival both the driver and officer were triaged, stabilized, and packaged for transport. Both were ground transported with one being taken to the nearest hospital and the other to the local trauma center. Both were treated and released with minor injuries.

LESSONS LEARNED:

The happy ending to this storyline is that both the driver and officer survived this serious rollover accident because they were properly using and wearing seatbelt harnesses. Our agency is a proud supporter and participant in the National Firefighter Seatbelt Pledge Campaign with 100% compliance. This pledged support [in writing] adds a higher level of safety awareness. If our personnel had not been wearing their seatbelts, this rollover incident would have most certainly resulted in a very different and tragic ending with both crew members being ejected and potentially crushed by the rolling apparatus.

Apparatus can be replaced - our firefighters cannot.

The other important point under lessons learned is that drivers should make sure that exhaust braking systems are NOT engaged when traveling or responding on wet and/or slippery road surfaces. Dense fog conditions produce a moisture film on road surfaces, which in this case turned to what drivers in the south call "black ice" conditions. Drivers should check the operational status of these systems before responding. During wet/slippery conditions, these braking systems should be disengaged with use of the brake pedal only per the manufacturer's operator manual recommendations.

Aerial starts to fall uncotrollably during check - Belts Save FFs

Thursday, December 17, 2009

We just got our ladder platform back from being serviced for operability problems of the ladder. Everything checked out during the period we were running the ladder. I was in the basket 100 ft up. I pushed the lever to lower the ladder like I have 100's of times before, and the ladder started to fall uncontrolably I let up on the control slowly to avoid a sudden stop and overload the ladder. That didn't work the ladder stopped suddenly when the control was back in neutral. The ladder sprung up, and down causing both Egress doors, and the vontrol box in the basket to fall to the floor. Thankfully My department just got NFPA compliant tethers, and that day was the first time I had a chance to wear one. Let me tell you It made me a believer. It saved my hide from being tossed over the side. Our old tethers were 6' long. If I had been wearing one of those, which by the way are still on the vehicle. I would have been dangleing. My partner hit E stop and I climbed down the ladder. Other then needing clean shorts I was OK.

LESSONS LEARNED:

Always wear PPE, never trust that something has been fixed. People can be smarter then computers

Tire Fails Approaching Scene

Thursday, December 10, 2009

On 12-1-2009 at aprox. 09:15 our department was dispatched to a MVA crash involving two vehicles with the driver of each vehicle pinned in. The initial dispatch included our department, two county EMS units, county rescue squad and a boardering fire department that also provides extrication rescue service. Our response consisted of a primary first out engine, first responder squad unit and a pumper tanker. The close call happened as our 3rd. out unit (the pumper tanker) approached the incident. As the driver slowed on approach to the incident the right front tire on the apperatus failed and had a total loss of air presure. The vehicle was traveling at an estimated speed of 15-20 MPH at the time of the failure. He was able to maintain control of the vehicle and bring it to a complete stop on the left hand shoulder of the roadway. The pumper tanker was taken out of service and a investigation was started before the unit was removed from the incident. The vehicle was taken to a local truck maintenance shop and repairs were made. In addition the truck shop employees as well as department personnel inspected the vehicle for any damage or safety issues that needed to be addressed. The unit was returned to the station later that day and department personnel completed another inspection before the unit was placed back in service.

LESSONS LEARNED:

The importance of visual inspections: The vehicle had been inspected that morning by department staff personnel and no defects or problems were found on any of the tires. Importance of safe driving practices and expect the unexpected: There was no indication that the failure was about to happen. Vehicle maintenance programs should include replacing tires within recommended standards and practices reguardless of appearance. This incident could have resulted in a very different outcome if the driver had not maintained control of the vehicle or had been travelling at a higher speed. It is my hope that this close call incident will cause drivers, line officers and chief officers to take note and check the tires of all their department vehicles.

Always Use a Spotter!

Friday, October 23, 2009

My incident began similarly to the way many others we read on here do. We were on a call for an activated fire alarm when we were dispatched to an ambulance call. I was the driver of the ambulance; my partner, still in his bunker gear, jumped in the rear of the ambulance to dress down. Instead of thoroughly thinking through what I should do, I merely reacted. I decided to perform a simple three-point turn to get out of the parking lot and onto the street. Our department SOG dictates no matter what the situation, we must always use a spotter when backing and in cases where this is impossible the driver must complete a 360° walk-around before attempting a backing maneuver. I now fully understand why. As I’m sure someone could assume, my simple three-point turn, was not so simple. Although I checked my mirrors and the rear back up camera, I did not have a spotter, although one was available, nor did I complete a 360° walk-around before attempting the backing portion of the three-point turn. As a result I hit a concrete pole. Most people may not consider this to be that big of a deal, and in this case it was not. The problem is what could have happened. The possibilities are endless. What if there were a small child standing there I didn’t see? What if I injured my partner? What if the ambulance was out of service because of the accident? What if I delayed the response to the medical emergency? The point I’m trying to make is there is no excuse for not following proper procedures.
LESSONS LEARNED:
These rules have all been enacted over the years, and for a good reason. The simple three-point turn I perform in my car every day, could have been a disaster for my department, me personally and my career. This has definitely taught me one thing; I will always use a spotter when backing a piece of apparatus in the future. And more than that, I will always do my best to follow department policies which I’ve learned the hard way are there for my protection.

Flying Bumper Piston Causes Injury

Saturday, October 17, 2009

It was shift change on 9/12/09 and a call came in for a car fire. It was quickly upgraded to a possible structure fire as reports indicated the vehicle was against a building. Our engine arrived first on scene to find a 1987 Volvo 780 backed up against a brick commercial building. The building was not involved but the engine compartment was fully engulfed. We stopped short of the vehicle, about 40 feet away and at an angle. While giving my size up on the radio, I heard a loud bang. I initially thought it was a tire exploding, but heard my driver utter some choice words. I looked over and saw a half-dollar sized hole in the windshield right near the driver’s face. It turns out that there were several pieces of glass in the driver’s eye, resulting in a scratched cornea (the driver was fully recovered by next shift). Initially we thought that only the metal bumper had struck the engine causing all of the damage. The assistant chief saw the debris flying through the air as he pulled on to the scene and there was a good-sized impact mark on the front of the vehicle below the hole in the windshield. A large section of bumper was found in the middle of the road next to the engine. Days later, we realized that a small piece of the bumper piston had actually flown through the windshield and ended up behind the officers airpack in the front seat. Timing played into our favor because had this been thirty seconds later, the debris that impacted the engine could easily have hit the crew stretching the hoseline to extinguish the fire.

LESSONS LEARNED:

We learn in our training that in order to safely approach a vehicle fire, we should approach at forty five degree angles to the front and rear of the vehicle. We know that we should be mindful of overhead wires and attempt to park uphill from a burning vehicle. After the incident of September 12th we realized that we also should have positioned the apparatus farther away from the incident. Parking farther away encourages crews to use a longer hoseline and start applying water from an appropriate angle, yet farther away from potential projectiles. Our incident also reinforced the idea of never getting in front of or behind a vehicle fire until it is properly cooled. While part of one bumper piston ended up in our engine, the other bumper piston rocketed forward and was found in the grass approximately seventy feet from the burned vehicle. There was a large gouge in the pavement where it initially hit, before landing in the grass. This also could have been a close call if the crew or bystanders were in front of the burning vehicle. The crew did not believe we were taking a car-fire call for granted. Our mistake was in assuming we were safe inside the apparatus.

Cars Run FD Roadblock at Accident Scene

Monday, October 5, 2009

Crews were operating at the scene of a Personal Injury Crash with Ejection and Entrapment on Alleghney River Blvd. 221 Service w/ a crew of 2 was instructed to shut down the roadway at Allegheny River Blvd and Nadine Rd. while other units worked the crash. Approx 30 to 45 min into the operations the Service unit called Command reporting a car had run there road block and was requesting police. The 2 quick thinking FFon the truck were able to get out of the way and no injuries were reported. Both inidicated they heard the vehicle approaching with what sounded like a falt tire and moving at a slow rate of speed. as it got closer thry could see the driver was going to attempt to get between the Service Truck and a guard rail. The driver did get between the service and the gaurdrail but the FF were able to get the driver to stop and then removed the keys from the vehicle by telling the what appeared to be very intoxicated female driver they would change the change the tire for her. Police arrived and handle the situation from there. On a side note the Roadblock on the other end of the accident was provided by and Engine there were 3 cars that broke that roadblock during the course of the accident but fortunatley they did make it far due to the quick thinking of the FF that were there as well. What are people thinking when they see Fire and Police vehicles blocking roadway.

Squad Passes Engine on Run - Close Call

Friday, September 4, 2009

Our engine was the third piece in for an accident with reported entrapment and possible cardiac arrest. The first due engine and our utility were already on scene removing the victim. As our engine was approaching the left turn onto a 2 lane secondary road, stopped in the crossover of a 4 lane primary highway, where there is a curve and a hill. The heavy squad of the first due company went around on the officer's side at high speed without stopping to check for traffic. The driver of our engine had just stepped on the accelerator after he had stopped and started to proceed just as the squad came around him. He immediately stopped our engine because it was very clear the squad had no intentions of stopping. Had our driver continued one of them would have gone into the ditch or the opposite lanes of travel? Let alone possibly severely damaging our only engine that we have no replacement money for in the first place. By the way, the squad was running understaffed with only 2 people. There were 2 ALS ambulances already on scene as well as an understaffed engine and our utility and numerous other fire/ems personnel. There was no need whatsoever for this type of action since the victim had already been removed from the vehicle and CPR had been started.
Lessons Learned:
Risk vs. benefit: risking lives to do nothing is totally un-acceptable. Just as one apparatus driver used poor judgment in operating his vehicle, there was another driver who was only released to drive 2 months ago, used what he had been taught and made a very good decision.

Aerial Narrowly Misses Hitting Power Lines

Monday, August 24, 2009

While operating a 100' quint @ a large furnitire warehouse fire our 100' quint turntable started to slowly rotate the opposite direction from the direction of the fire stream. The problem seems to be when flowing close to the 1000 GPM manufacturer recommendation in any direction, the nozzle when rotated close to a 45 degree angle from left to right creates enough back pressure to over ride the springbrake for the turntable. While we were over the recommended 10' from power lines, by the time the operator noticed the problem and took corrective action (attempted to move the ladder to the left, not the nozzle) caused the ladder to drift faster and came in contact with the power lines. The lines had been de-energized but this was a very close call.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Moving the nozzle back to center point would have stopped the movement of the ladder.

2. When a person is on the quint itself we will have 1 person at the turntable and 1 person at the pump panel. We only had 1 person assigned to the turntable and that person had left the turntable area to do other tasks.

3. The manufacturer is looking at the springbrake problem to see if there is a fix.

4. Rewriting our training guide for quint operations to not rotate the nozzle more than 30 degrees off center of the ladder.

Burning Flatbed Rolls Away - Injures FFs

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

At approximately 1400 we received a call for vehicle fire south bound on the Eastern Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike. Two Engines, a Ladder Tower, and a Deputy Chiefs vehicle were dispatched to the scene as per our normal response. Upon arrival we found a flatbed truck with the cab and engine compartment fully involved on the right shoulder. It is important to note that this section of the NJ Turn Pike is an elevated bridge and we were positioned facing uphill with only a 4 – 5 foot concrete barrier on the side of the shoulder. The first due engine arrived on the scene and parked up hill in front of the vehicle along with the Ladder-Tower. The State Police were on the scene prior to our arrival and had the shoulder and the right lane blocked and they were positioned behind the vehicle downhill. As per our protocol the second due Engine staged near the toll plaza. As I arrived on the scene in the D/C vehicle I was forced to park downhill behind two State Police vehicles. All three of our vehicles were in line on the shoulder starting approximately 20-feet behind the vehicle. As the First due engine was just starting the suppression efforts the flatbeds brakes let loose and the flatbed, which was still smoldering with fire in the cab area at the time, started to roll backwards along the shoulder between the concrete barriers and the right lane traffic. The two State Police vehicles moved into the right lane but the D/C vehicle was trapped on the shoulder behind the moving vehicle. I hopped in the D/C vehicle and drove backwards at the speed of flatbed in case I had to attempt to use the D/C car to stop the flatbed from turning into oncoming traffic. The Vehicle rolled down the hill, uncontrolled, for approximately 360-feet until a member was able to turn the steering wheel so that the vehicle turned into the concrete barrier and came to a complete stop. This vehicle could have easily run over an emergency worker on the scene or turned into oncoming traffic as it was in motion. Two members were injured while attempting to stop this vehicle while it was in motion. One had minor burns to his palms and injured his knee, and the second had a second degree burn along with a laceration to his right palm. This was an easily preventable accident had we chocked the vehicle immediately upon arrival. This action is often performed by the Ladder Company on the scene, however they were still in the process of donning their SCBA’s as the brakes let loose.

Lessons Learned: Chock the vehicle immediately upon arrival; do not wait for the second due Have planned escape routes in case the vehicle moves forward or backwards Have good communications with other first responders and have them move to a safe area.

Peach Co, GA Ambulance Rollover

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Peach County (GA) EMS ambulance overturned responding to an overturned vehicle about an hour ago. One paramedic was entrapped and both were transported to the hospital.

Wrecker Driver almost splatters two firefighters and State troopers

Monday, July 27, 2009

Sunday July 26, 2009 - We got on scene in POV to a motorcycle wreck around 10pm Sunday night. The motorcycle had run from troopers and wrecked into an area of road in a rural wooded area on a set of s-curves. Medical personell decided to lifeflight the driver. So, we all relocated to an open field down the road. During apparatus placement one of our trucks got stuck in the ditch. We then requested a heavy wrecker from the nieghboring county to respond. It was then, that a firefighter said he had lost his cap back at the scene. Me and my friend got into his POV and proceeded back to the area to search for the guys cap. We got out and asked the troopers if they saw it. It was at that time the wrecker came around the S curve and didnt seem to slow down. We ran across the road as the wrecker smashed into the ditch where we were just standing. Luckily no one got hurt this time.

Lessons learned: Always stay alert when working wrecks. Apparatus placement is also essential on dangerous sections of road not only for Fire Departments, but also any other emergency personel working the road.

Wrecker Driver Sends Vehicle Rolling Towards Patients!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

While treating patients of a motor vehicle accident, the wrecker driver hooked to one vehicle. He began to pull the vehicle away from the other vehicle. Once the vehicle was clear, the other vehicle began rolling toward a police car holding a patient from the accident and a fireman.

Lessons Learned: Always check the emergency brake and set the vehicles in park or scotch them at all MVA scenes.

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