Garfield County Fire Truck vs Train

[jimmnn]

US-6 between Silt and New Castle Burning Mtn Fire Engine struck by a train and dragged down the tracks. No initial reports of injuries to the FF's.

http://garfieldcounty.no-ip.info:8080/

http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv11615.php

Jim<

 

[jimmnn]

Three Year Old Child in Fire Engine

Press release from CSP Glenwood Springs:

On March 25, 2006, at approximately 12.30pm a Burning Mountain Fire/Rescue Engine was attempting to cross the railroad tracks and was struck by a freight train. The crash took place at the South Frontage Road crossing Hwy-6 just east of Coal Ridge High School. The fire engine was traveling northbound attempting to reach Hwy-6 when it was struck by the eastbound freight train.

The driver of the fire engine was identified as a 20 year old local from the Rifle area. The investigation and statements obtained by troopers on scene indicated the driver had scene the approaching train, but attempted to beat the train across the crossing. The lead locomotive struck the fire engine in the left rear causing the engine to rotate into a counterclockwise direction where it was struck in the front a second time by the train. The fire engine then slid over an embankment and rolled ¼ times into a ditch coming to final rest on its left side north of the railroad tracks. As the fire engine slid into the ditch it struck a power pole partially crushing the cab of the truck.

The lights and bells at the crossing appeared to be functioning appropriately and the engineer of the train was using his train horn to warn traffic as he approached the crossing. The locomotive was able to get stopped after striking the fire engine and came to rest with cars still blocking the crossing.

The fire engine was occupied by three additional parties, a 29 year old female, a 28 year old male and a three year old child. None of the occupants of the fire engine were ejected and all were examined while on scene by the ambulance crew. None of the occupants were taken to the hospital. The driver of the fire engine was cited for careless driving.

The initial recovery of the fire engine was slowed as a precautionary measure to assure that the power to the electrical pole involved had been turned off. Intermittent road closures occurred as a result of the recovery efforts. The longest road closure occurred on Hwy-6 after the fire engine had been up righted and was being loaded onto the lowboy tow truck.

Jim<

 

[RDCat]

ON CO EMS /JOHN GREDIG/REPORTS/ONLYBUMPS BRUISES ON HIS COUNTERPrts of burning mtn fire dept

 

[jimmnn]

ON CO EMS /JOHN GREDIG/REPORTS/ONLYBUMPS BRUISES ON HIS COUNTERPrts of burning mtn fire dept

But why a three year old child Ron?

Jim<

 

[jimmnn]

4 survive collision of firetruck, train

Saturday, March 25, 2006

By BOB KRETSCHMAN

The Daily Sentinel

Four people in a firetruck that was hit by a locomotive near New Castle on Saturday afternoon survived the accident and came away with only scratches, officials said.

“It’s a miracle no one was hurt,” said Brit McLin, chief of the Burning Mountains Fire Protection District, which owns the fire truck. “The truck is absolutely totaled.”

The Colorado State Patrol said the accident happened about 12:30 p.m. when the firetruck, driven by 20-year-old Austin Coryell of Rifle, was attempting to cross railroad tracks at the South Frontage Road crossing to U.S. Highway 6 east of Coal Ridge High School.

“The driver was unaware of the train,” McLin said. He said Coryell noticed the approaching train as the firetruck’s cab rolled onto the tracks, and he accelerated.

The lead locomotive struck the rear of the firetruck, causing the truck to spin counterclockwise. The second locomotive then struck the front of the truck. The firetruck slid over an embankment and rolled one-quarter time into a ditch, striking a power pole, which partially crushed the cab.

Occupants of the firetruck, in addition to Coryell, were a 29-year-old woman, a 28-year-old man and their 3-year-old child, McLin said. The family wasn’t identified in the police report.

The State Patrol said none of the occupants was ejected from the truck, and all were examined at the scene by an ambulance crew. No one was taken to a hospital, and Coryell was cited for careless driving.

Coryell, a volunteer firefighter for the Burning Mountains district, was on a training drive with a ride-along family, McLin said. The district sometimes gives people rides in firetrucks as part of the district’s community relations efforts, he said.

McLin said other fire agencies will assist with an independent review of the incident, and any decision regarding disciplinary measures for Coryell will be the result of that review.

The State Patrol said lights and bells at the crossing appeared to be operating properly, and the train engineer was sounding the train’s horn as he approached the crossing.

McLin estimated the 2004 fire-and-rescue truck was worth about $250,000.

The Burning Mountains Fire Protection District covers about 440 square miles in the Silt and New Castle area.

 

[Troop]

Curious if a child safety seat fits in a fire truck seat

 

[RISC777]

I'm wondering what the repairs or replacement cost(s) will be.

 

[jf222]

Another question: What was a 20 year old driving a fire truck, since all the insurance companies that write Fire Department insurance policies have prohibited anyone under 21 from operating a official vehicle. This was done last year.

 

[BoxAlarm187]

JF222, I know that our insurance policy still allows persons under 21 to operate official vehicles, perhaps this was something specific to New York?

 

[Moosemedic]

I am at a loss for words. I started to reply to this thread at least 3 times since the incident occured. Each time I read what I posted, thought three times and deleted. Let's hope this one gets it right.

GRRRRRRRRRR Ok, that's done, but what on Earth were they thinking? And I mean the Chief on down.

I assume this act of sheer stupidity would only have been more likely if he was responding to an actual emergency instead of a Thrill ride. If this level of judgement is portrayed under routine circumstances, would anyone expect more clarity of thought under the stress of an actual response? What is the Department culture overall? For instance; How many Beers can you drink before you have to ride in the passenger seat?

According to the press releases this 20 year old had been a member for "almost 6 months" Did he get to drive the quarter of a million dollar apparatus on Day 1, and now have a whopping 6 months expereince operating Emergency Vehicles? Or was this the first time in the Big Red Truck? How does a new Rookie Firefighter even understand the operation of this kind of apparatus, or is the only goal to "Drive"? What is the training program that even allows this, paid or volunteer? With NFIS, CEVO and all the rest, there has got to be something available to them, otherwise let's let the operators Insurance cover the replacement cost. Maybe the Chief could cover the deductable since he "authorized" this request.

Unless I missed some new change in the law, a 3 year old would have to be in a child Safety Seat, and if he wasn't, why are there no charges filed for that violation?

The article states that the Firefighter saw the signals and assumed they were malfunctioning? What kind of messed up thought process says ...Assume it's broken, run the flashing red lights, ignore the bells, unless you see a train in front of your face? How about Step 1; Stop at the flashing red lights, 2; See if you can hear a loud blaring horn over the clanging bell sounds before 3; Going over a marked railroad crossing.

That would be reckless operation wouldn't it?

I'm all for Cops giving us a break, but at the same time, this person needs to be held acocuntable for nearly killing 3 other people, costing the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost apparartus and the protection it afforded them, not to mention the potential derailment of a train. This incident did NOT occur as a part of an Emergency Response, and he should be held to the same standards as the Public if not higher!

You and I would get a ticket for careless sliding off the road in 2 feet of snow!!!

A quote from the Chief stated that he faced no disciplinary actions at all, something about "he's family and will stay family"? Great, how about the general public? Surely this black eye will stay swollen for a long time. If this department had a true need for, oh, say a Brush Truck, new Ambulance, Heavy Rescue.... you're going to think that the taxpaying public won't "punish" the whole department and vote down a Bond? >Cause and effect <, The Community suffers becuase of the Brotherhood. The same brotherhood that let this 20 year old exercise such a blatant lack of judgement.

Ok, I'm done with my off topic rant. Please forward this to the Department if you have an Email or URL, I couldn't find it myself of I would have in a heartbeat.