EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATIONS APPARATUS ROLLOVERS: CASE STUDIES

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1 EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATIONS APPARATUS ROLLOVERS: CASE STUDIES No person involved with the fire service will argue the pain, heartbreak and a feeling of sheer helplessness after viewing the aftermath of an fire apparatus rollover. I will never forget my first time. It was on March , only 12 miles from my home, when a fire apparatus mechanic friend and myself looked off to the side of the interstate cloverleaf to see a vintage B-Model Mack pumper completely upside down. At first I felt a sense of profound sadness. Then questions ran through my mind at one hundred miles per hour. Were any firefighters injured or killed? Were any civilians involved? How did the accident happen? What was on fire? Were there any injuries or worse at the scene of the fire? How did this accident affect the out come at the fire scene? How badly damaged was the Mack pumper? Could it be fixed? Would the apparatus be a total loss? What affect would this accident have on the fire department members? What would the post accident, long term hold in store for the fire department? This accident occurred as the apparatus was enroute to a working truck fire on the interstate. This accident was the result of several factors. The apparatus operator was new and inexperienced. As he drove over the interstate just prior to entering the cloverleaf the apparatus operator could see the working truck fire causing a high level of excitement at the same time that the rear wheels went off the road shoulder into the loose soft gravel. As the vehicle slipped into the soft gravel the weight of the water, gravity

2 and the speed of the apparatus catapulted the apparatus onto its roof. The accident resulted in minor injuries to the two firefighters on board the apparatus but caused the apparatus to be a total loss. The accident also resulted in a delayed response to the original truck fire, which was a total loss before the fire department was ever dispatched. In this first article in a series we will examine some recent apparatus rollover accidents and in subsequent columns discuss what factors contributed to these accidents and actions that can be taken to reduce the number of these types of accidents. A Virginia firefighter was killed when the rescue apparatus he was a passenger in rolled over en-route to a report of a gas leak. The firefighter had less than one year in this combination department. The accident occurred at about 19:45 hours, on a winding twolane road. The rescue rig flipped over on its side after leaving the road crashing into the trees. Two civilian vehicles were also involved in the crash, but there were no civilian injuries. The driver of the rescue was 29 years old and had 11years of service as a volunteer with the fire department. The driver received head and leg injuries, was treated at the hospital and released. The rescue apparatus was a 1991 Mack/Saulsbury non walkin Heavy Rescue. The rescue unit was among seven fire trucks dispatched to investigate a gas leak inside a private dwelling. As the rescue was responding the operator lost control, the rig veered off the right side of the road and struck a culvert. At this point the operator attempted to guide the truck back onto the roadway, but overcorrected and the apparatus veered into the on coming lane. With the truck heading toward two oncoming cars, the civilian drivers began taking evasive action, trying to veer to their right and out of the path of the truck. The first civilian driver could not get over far enough, and the firetruck

3 sideswiped this vehicle. The second civilian vehicle sustained damage when it went off the road in an attempt to avoid a collision with the firetruck. Meanwhile the apparatus operator continued to struggle to bring the apparatus under control apparently he tried to steer it back into his lane of travel. The apparatus now runs off the right side of the road, flips over and strikes a tree. The firefighters aboard the six other units responding to the gas leak were unaware of the crash. The emergency involved a leak from a gas stove. The fire chief stated that the piping had become separated in the wall and that it was a significant call. On Tuesday afternoon August 31,1999 a South Carolina firefighter was killed and two other firefighters were injured when their pumper, responding to a report of a vehicle accident, lost control and overturned multiple times. The driver was 34 years old and was an eight-year veteran of this volunteer fire department. The accident occurred when the driver lost control of the unit as the wheels went off the right side of the road. As he attempted to compensate, the apparatus veered to the left, across a yard and another road, flipping over and landing in another yard. No other vehicles were involved. It took crews about and hour to extricate the driver from the wreckage of the crash. Two other firefighters onboard the apparatus at the time of the wreck, suffered less serious injuries and were treated and released from an area hospital. The fire truck was reportedly traveling about 50 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. Officials also noted that none of the firefighters were wearing seatbelts. On Sunday May 3,1999 a 28 year old volunteer firefighter from North Carolina, was killed when the pumper he was driving left the roadway, overturned and struck a

4 tree. The six-year fire department veteran leaves behind a wife and a young child. He was trapped in the wreckage for several hours. The incident occurred while returning to the station. The volunteer fire department was dispatched to a motor-vehicle accident involving injuries. The Assistant Chief, who was fist to arrive via his privately owned vehicle, assessed the scene and determined that no one, was injured. He canceled the response of the Rescue and the Engine that wrecked, which were en route to the scene. While driving to the station, the driver apparently steered then Engine toward the shoulder of the road to provide more room for oncoming traffic. As he approached the shoulder, the right-rear dual tires went off the road. This was due to the insufficient road shoulder and the steep incline of the ditch beside the road (common in much of rural America). Continuing off the road and into the ditch for approximately 280 feet, the Engine overturned onto the passenger side, striking a large tree. The driver of the apparatus was killed instantly. He was driving a 1995 HME/Marion with a 1000-gallon T shaped tank with baffles. A 28-year-old Louisiana volunteer firefighter died December 15, 1999 when he lost control of his fire department tanker while responding to a grass fire. The driver of the 1,500-gallon tanker lost control on a curve. As he went off the road, the shoulder gave way under the right wheels of the tanker. As the operator tried to regain control and get the tanker back on the roadway it flipped and rolled sideways before ejecting the driver from his seat. The tanker rolled over one and half times before skidding upside down 200 yards down the road. The driver was thrown 170 yards from where he was ejected and pronounced dead on the scene.

5 In the state of Pennsylvania, on Wednesday November 17,1999 at 15:30 hours a pumper overturned en- route to a barn fire injuring 8 firefighters, one critically that was trapped under the apparatus for nearly an hour. The 1988 FMC pumper, which carried 1,000 gallons of water, was totally destroyed in the accident. The driver of the pumper is 60 years old and has 42 years of emergency vehicle driving experience. The accident occurred on a dry, cold, November afternoon. Accident reconstruction experts determined the truck was moving at about 54 mph, when it came around a sharp bend in the road, near an intersection. The right tires traveled off the roadway, the truck kept moving, partially on and off the roadway traveling for about 300 feet. In an attempt to regain control the operator steered to the left and the vehicle traveled into the on coming lane of traffic. Then the operator steered sharply to the right, but the truck began to overturn. It moved another 105 back into its original lane of traffic, before slamming into the ditch and slicing through dozens of trees for another 116 feet, where it came to rest. At least four of the firefighters were thrown from the apparatus as it overturned, sources said that none of the firefighters were wearing seatbelts. Ironically for one of the 15-year-old firefighters it was only his second call. It would appear that most if not all of the firefighters were ejected and thrown from or under the vehicle. On January 17, 2000 in the state of Missouri a 47-year-old volunteer firefighter was fatally injured when the pumper carrying 600 gallons, that he was driving overturned end for end. The pumper was responding mutual aid to a working house fire when the accident occurred at 15:35 hours. Officials stated that the engine was traveling west when the operator lost control of the vehicle, struck the guardrail and overturned. The

6 official stated that the apparatus rolled end over end at least twice and ended up in a drainage area. It must also be noted that the road appeared to be a little slick from the mist that had been falling most of the afternoon. It was also theorized that the water in the tank was sloshing, and that the driver overcorrected and lost control. Finally as we were going to press we learned of the tragic death of 28-year-old firefighter Evan Shirk. Firefighter Shirk, a five year veteran was returning from a medical call when the engine he was driving overturned several times causing fatal injuries. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to firefighter Shirks expectant wife and 2 young children and the officers and members of the Moreau Fire Protection District, may he rest in peace. In the next emergency vehicle operators column we will take an in-depth look at these accidents, highlighting the similarities and the differences. Most importantly we will publish the lessons that were learned and/or reinforced from these tragedies. I would respectfully request that if any readers have emergency vehicle accident pictures or slides weather they are Police, Fire or EMS that they would send them to me in care of Firehouse Magazine. Your efforts will help in the continuing process of educating emergency vehicle operators. Finally I look forward to seeing you at the Firehouse Expo in Baltimore later this month. FIREHOUSE MAGAZINE JULY, 2000 BY: MICHAEL WILBUR