# Detroit Fire Truck Crash



## HotelCo (Jul 23, 2009)

Fire Truck Crash Caught On Tape



> Investigators said the surveillance camera from Dollar Max Plus shows the driver of the rig takes the right turn at a high speed and misses his lane. He then plows the 65,000 rig into a vehicle waiting at the light on Vernor Street and then slams into a Pontiac G6, sending it flying nearly 50 feet, before coming to a stop.
> 
> The two people inside the Pontiac G6 were taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the vehicle that was hit first was not injured. Also, none of the three firefighters inside the rig were injured.



http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/20141536/detail.html


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## VentMedic (Jul 23, 2009)

Ouch!  That was a bad turn on the FF's part.


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## Shishkabob (Jul 23, 2009)

Only a slight misjudgment on the turn ^_^


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## Chimpie (Jul 23, 2009)




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## medichopeful (Jul 23, 2009)

Glad everybody is okay.

How do you misjudge a turn by that much?  h34r:


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## VentMedic (Jul 23, 2009)

Some forget how big a fire truck or an ambulance is and how much weight is factored in their speed. 

If the FF had tried to make the turn, he would have flipped the truck and that could also have been very serious. At least here it looks like he did keep the truck under control to some extent to avoid a few direct hits.

It definitely could have been a lot worst but it still puts a piece of equipment out of service and delays response to an emergency.

Running L/S is a huge responsibility.


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## medichopeful (Jul 23, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> Some forget how big a fire truck or an ambulance is and how much weight is factored in their speed.
> 
> If the FF had tried to make the turn, he would have flipped the truck and that could also have been very serious. At least here it looks like he did keep the truck under control to some extent to avoid a few direct hits.
> 
> ...



He should have been driving slower.  The article said he had driven the route before, so he should have known what the safe speed was.  

I must admit, he did a good job avoiding a major accident, but he should have never been in the situation where he needed to in the first place.


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## minneola24 (Jul 24, 2009)

Wow, shows how much damage those trucks can do, it made that one car go flying.


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## kittaypie (Jul 25, 2009)

holy crap! they were flying down that street! no way i would even drive my honda around a corner that fast.


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## VFFforpeople (Jul 25, 2009)

First, glad to say no one was injured major in this mix up.

We all make mistakes. easy to say what we wouldn't do, but unless you were in that seat at that time who is to say. 

Yes, I will agree, speed should have been decreased and done safley...but if it were a perfect world..we would be out of jobs lol.


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## WuLabsWuTecH (Jul 26, 2009)

WOW!!!!!  When I read the article I thought he went too far and hit the left side of the vehicles waiting.  He was 2 lanes over!!!!  He hit the vehicles on the other side!!!!  Had he kept going straight after the turn e missed his lane by so much he would have actually cleared the vehicles on the other side!!!!

Oops!  Yo chief!  I forgot I wasn't driving my prius and that the rig needed some extra space to turn!


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## Scout (Jul 26, 2009)

Is there any talk of if the engine was mechanically fit?


Could there have been an issue with the breaks.


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## BLSBoy (Jul 26, 2009)

Lots on Monday Morning QBs here I see...
Here are some FACTS, but don't let them get in the way of your smartass comments....
L13 USED to be a Tiller Co, until the mutts that run the city decided that they don't need to pay an additional fireman, so they cut the tiller, and make it a straight stick. For those not educated as to why that is a major factor, a tiller co is MUCH easier to turn on a dime then a straight stick. 
DFDs "maintence" division is shoddy at best, so the chances of this being mechanical are extremely high. 
The Chauffer has been on the job 10+ years. He is no wet behind the ears rookie who is driving for the first time. He has driven that route before. He knows the limitations of his driving, the road, and his apparatus.


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## medichopeful (Jul 26, 2009)

Ignore.  Didn't read the post correctly,


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## medichopeful (Jul 26, 2009)

BLSBoy said:


> Lots on Monday Morning QBs here I see...
> Here are some FACTS, but don't let them get in the way of your smartass comments....
> L13 USED to be a Tiller Co, until the mutts that run the city decided that they don't need to pay an additional fireman, so they cut the tiller, and make it a straight stick. For those not educated as to why that is a major factor, a tiller co is MUCH easier to turn on a dime then a straight stick.
> DFDs "maintence" division is shoddy at best, so the chances of this being mechanical are extremely high.
> The Chauffer has been on the job 10+ years. He is no wet behind the ears rookie who is driving for the first time. He has driven that route before. He knows the limitations of his driving, the road, and his apparatus.



Isn't Monday Morning quarterbacking a good way to learn?

He could have easily avoided the need to "turn on a dime" if he was going slower.  Though I can't say for sure that it wasn't mechanical, he seemed to be able to come to a stop pretty quickly after the incident.


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## Flight-LP (Jul 26, 2009)

BLSBoy said:


> Lots on Monday Morning QBs here I see...
> Here are some FACTS, but don't let them get in the way of your smartass comments....
> L13 USED to be a Tiller Co, until the mutts that run the city decided that they don't need to pay an additional fireman, so they cut the tiller, and make it a straight stick. For those not educated as to why that is a major factor, a tiller co is MUCH easier to turn on a dime then a straight stick.
> DFDs "maintence" division is shoddy at best, so the chances of this being mechanical are extremely high.
> The Chauffer has been on the job 10+ years. He is no wet behind the ears rookie who is driving for the first time. He has driven that route before. He knows the limitations of his driving, the road, and his apparatus.



Here is another fact............

Had a tiller rolled throught that intersection in the same manner, it too would have rolled, if not have taken out more vehicles.

Maintenence. Irrelevent in this situation.

Experience. Irrelevent period. A newbie hose monkey can drive just as safely and I will actually argue more safely due to recency in training and knowledge. Veterans tend to disuse departmental standards and opt for more individualized comfort. Look at accident statistics. You may be surprised to see the number of experienced operators that are involved.

Polish a turd, its still a turd. The video is clear as glass, he was driving too fast. It gets back to risk vs. benefit. There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO COMPROMISE PERSONAL SAFETY AND THAT OF YOUR CREW FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S EMERGENCY.


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## BLSBoy (Jul 26, 2009)

Flight-LP said:


> Maintenence. Irrelevent in this situation.



Baloney. Bad breaks would have certainly contributed.


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## MendoEMT (Jul 26, 2009)

HOLY CRAP!!  I've accidentally taken out a trash can or two in my rig, but that's nuts!


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## Flight-LP (Jul 26, 2009)

BLSBoy said:


> Baloney. Bad breaks would have certainly contributed.



Looks like the brakes worked just fine after slamming into multiple cars.........


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## medichopeful (Jul 26, 2009)

Flight-LP said:


> Looks like the brakes worked just fine after slamming into multiple cars.........



Yeah, I noticed that too.  I still think it was just reckless driving.


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## BLSBoy (Jul 26, 2009)

medichopeful said:


> Yeah, I noticed that too.  I still think it was just reckless driving.





			
				medichopeful said:
			
		

> Disclaimer: As of now, I do not have any medical training, and I am not certified as an EMT or any other type of medical professional. Anything I say is my *untrained opinion*, and as such should be taken for what it is worth.



FTM-PTB. 

Let's wait until we see what the crash investigation reveals.


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## Flight-LP (Jul 26, 2009)

BLSBoy said:


> FTM-PTB.
> 
> Let's wait until we see what the crash investigation reveals.



FTM-PTB?!?!?!? 

lol......seriously?!?!?!?  Is EGH next?????? 

Dude, take it to firehouse.com.


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## medichopeful (Jul 26, 2009)

BLSBoy said:


> FTM-PTB.
> 
> Let's wait until we see what the crash investigation reveals.



Not sure why you feel the need to defend this firefighter to the end.  From what I have seen, it looks like he screwed up.  Does this alone make him a bad firefighter?  No.  It means he made a mistake, and he is human.  Things should be learned from his mistake.

Have you ever heard the saying "those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it?"  I would say that by studying and critiquing the actions of this firefighter, others will learn.

But then again, what do I know?  I clearly don't have any training (as you were nice enough to point out), so how could I possibly know that he was driving too fast?

And by the way, wouldn't learning from his mistakes so that another person does not do the same thing and end up dead or injured count as the "PTB" you are talking about?  And for that matter, the "EGH" as well?


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## WuLabsWuTecH (Jul 27, 2009)

FTM-PTB???  Huh?  I'm clueless.  What did we say about using non-approved abbreviations on PCRs??????


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## medichopeful (Jul 27, 2009)

WuLabsWuTecH said:


> FTM-PTB???  Huh?  I'm clueless.  What did we say about using non-approved abbreviations on PCRs??????



It means "F@#$ the mutt (people who try to harm firefighters or do them injustice), protect the brother."  Why he threw it in here is a good question.  I think it was because he didn't want anybody bad-mouthing the actions of the firefighter in question.


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## Hockey (Jul 27, 2009)

BLSBoy said:


> Lots on Monday Morning QBs here I see...
> Here are some FACTS, but don't let them get in the way of your smartass comments....
> L13 USED to be a Tiller Co, until the mutts that run the city decided that they don't need to pay an additional fireman, so they cut the tiller, and make it a straight stick. For those not educated as to why that is a major factor, a tiller co is MUCH easier to turn on a dime then a straight stick.
> DFDs "maintence" division is shoddy at best, so the chances of this being mechanical are extremely high.
> The Chauffer has been on the job 10+ years. He is no wet behind the ears rookie who is driving for the first time. He has driven that route before. He knows the limitations of his driving, the road, and his apparatus.




You have to be kidding me.  Are you actually trying to sound like you know SOMETHING about DFD?


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## Hockey (Jul 27, 2009)

BLSBoy said:


> FTM-PTB.
> 
> Let's wait until we see what the crash investigation reveals.




Wow...



Flight-LP said:


> FTM-PTB?!?!?!?
> 
> lol......seriously?!?!?!?  Is EGH next??????
> 
> Dude, take it to firehouse.com.




I don't always agree with you but do I ever with that


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