COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Four Colorado Springs firefighters are okay and recovering after one of the department’s engines was involved in a crash Saturday.
It happened in downtown Colorado Springs, and CSFD said five people on the bus were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Fire Chief Randy Royal said he is very glad everyone survived.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to both our crew and the civilians injured in the incident,” said Royal.
The chief said he hasn’t seen a CSFD crash like this in around 25 years.
“Obviously, it’s quite a hit to us,” Royal continued. “We don’t ever like seeing this type of situation happen.”
Chief Royal said the fire engine is a total loss, and the department now has to figure out what the crash means for its budget.
In the meantime, Fire Station Three is using one of the department’s backup engines that it has available for situations like this.
CSFD hopes it can order a new engine sooner rather than later, because Chief Royal said the apparatus takes around two years to arrive.
“The goal is to replace it; we just don’t know how quickly we can,” said Royal.
Plus, Royal said over the years, the cost of an engine has doubled.
“We were able to get those for $460,000,” Royal continued. “Now, they’re over $900,000, closing in on a million dollars. So, it’s basically a $1 million hit.”
The crash happened while the department is already behind on upgrading its fleet.
“There’s a lot of our reserves that were made in 1996. You know, that’s 30 years ago,” Royal continued. “We have reserves out there that we actually have to manufacture the parts for, because they don’t make those parts anymore for them.”
The fire chief said as the city tightens its budget, he doesn’t yet know where the money for a new engine will come from.
“There’s a lot of processes we have to go through, but I know there’s already talk about how we’re going to address this with the mayor and other staff, and we’ll stay on it,” said Chief Royal.
An investigation into the crash continues, and Chief Royal thanks the community for supporting those who were injured.
