THE DRIVER OF A CHARLES CITY COUNTY fire department tanker is hospitalized in serious condition following a single-vehicle accident Sunday morning.
photo by James Bates
According to Virginia State Police, Michael Buchanan, 51, of Quinton was responding with the 3,000-gal. tanker around 5 am Sunday morning when he drifted to the right drainage ditch, then crossed over the narrow 2-lane road to the left side where he rolled over and struck a tree.
WRIC-TV
The crash destroyed the truck, breaking it into several pieces. Buchanan was trapped inside the cab and had to be extricated. He apparently has some serious damage to his legs and was airlifted to Virginia Commonwealth Univ. Hospital in Richmond.
YOU HAVE ALL PARTICIPATED in one of those mock car accidents designed to teach teenagers about the dangers of careless or drunk driving. That is what was going on in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Friday morning when the town's fire department and police department were staging a crash with injuries along with the safety lectures, plus the extrication and first aid demonstration by the firefighters, for the Detroit Lakes High School students.
WDAY-TV
With the entire student body of 400 gathered on portable bleachers, the demonstration began with a police officer giving the lecture and a few students and community volunteers acting as trapped, injured victims. Without warning, the unmanned fire engine started rolling and it was aimed right for the "crash" scene. It struck the two wrecked cars at a low speed (less than 5 mph) causing some minor injuries to the police officer, an EMT and two of the student actors.
The demo became real as the FD had to perform genuine extrications and ambulances were called for real-blood injuries. Six people were transported, but all were treated and released for minor cuts and bruises. It hasn't been determined yet for sure why the pumper started rolling. At the time it was believed that the parking brake had been applied, but that has to be determined yet.
Firegeezer notes: This is why all departments must have a firm policy of always using a wheel chock whenever the operator is out of the cab, whether the motor is running or not (outside of the equipment bays, of course).
A FIRE ENGINE FROM THE HILTER, GERMANY, Volunteer Fire Brigade lost its steering control Saturday morning and slammed into a wall of the Hilter town hall.
According to the police, the engine's driver lost control of the steering and the truck went directly across a traffic roundabout, then jumped the curb, went through a low stone wall and smashed into the building, luckily hitting it right in a former doorway.
All photos via Nord-West-Media
The crash was just 30 feet away from the police station that was occupied at the time. There were no injuries, but the early damage estimates exceed 400,000 euros. The firetruck has been written off as a total loss. There will be a complete investigation into the cause of the accident.
Introducing … Olympic MINIs! We'll be using these to attend to small incidents, like bin fires, on the Olympic Park during the Games. What do you think to them? They'll be out & about in London over the next few months so if you're lucky enough to spot one, do take a snap and upload your pics here.
Fire engines will still be mobilised should larger incidents occur, but the MINIs will provide an immediate response to tackle small fires without unnecessarily disrupting the Games. They are fitted with blue LED lights and a siren. They will carry a range of equipment, such as foam, water and dry powder fire extinguishers to tackle various types of small fire. They also contain first aid equipment.
The first video from the "Big Muscle" series from Mike Musto.
It packs a 400 hp diesel out of a Ford F-350, a Dana 80 rear-end, and a look and feel that would make Max Rockatansky feel right at home. This is Mitch Allread's custom fabricated creation and it is, without a doubt, one of the coolest things on the road today.
This is a machine that transcends the traditional hot rod formula by breaking down borders and setting its own stage. Whereas most hot-rods are built by custom shops utilizing parts from mail order catalogs, Mitch took a different approach and fabricated just about everything on his ride by hand. Calling this a rat-rod would be an insult – a work of art however… that'd be just fine.
Kurt Ernst, writing for Motor Authority, describes the powertrain:
Under the hood lurks a “mildly chipped” Ford PowerStroke diesel V-8, pulled from a 1997 Ford F350. Allread figures it puts out in the neighborhood of 400 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque, which explains why he retained the dually wheels at the back end.
Ernst, also writing for Automotive Addicts, describes the Big Muscle host, Mike Musto:
Mike Musto is the car guy’s car guy. He’s run Bullrun, campaigned a vintage Dodge Charger called “Mr. Angry” in One Lap of America and has forgotten more about the pro-touring scene than you or I will ever learn.
Now he’s got his own weekly series on YouTube’s Drive channel called “Big Muscle,” and if the first episode is any indication, it will be worth tuning into.
The pace and focus of the first 10 minute video takes a different approach to the automotive feature, more speaking and less smoking tires.
A DARWIN, AUSTRALIA, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER WAS CHARGED yesterday for a highway crash that killed three people back in August 2011.
ABC News
At the time, Firegeezer reported HERE on August 7:
A major fire broke out in a warehouse in the suburb of Berrimah around 7 am Sunday and the fire officers on the scene requested a foam unit from the airport for assistance. The responding fire-rescue-crash truck was en route to the fire when it collided with an SUV at an intersection with a side road. Four people were in the car and two of them died on the scene, a man and a woman. A third passenger was seriously injured and the fourth had only minor injuries.
After that posting the third injured person died in the hospital. All of the passengers were architects. Two of them, Greg McNamara, 45, and his wife Lena Yali, 43, were the principals of Troppo Architects in the Northern Territory.
Jack David Norris appeared in court Monday where the charges were placed against him for entering an intersection against a red light, driving negligently and driving dangerously, causing harm or death. Davis will return to court in June. Via: 7News.
A RHENA, GERMANY, FIRE BRIGADE VAN was transporting a group of Junior Firefighters to an event Sunday morning when it wrecked and rolled over.
112-Magazin / pfa photo
The group was headed to a Fire Brigades Youth Day in Frankenburg when the 23-yr.-old driver was blinded by the sun in his direct vision. This caused him to leave the road where the van struck a tree on the right rear side, then spun around and went into a ditch where it rolled over and landed back on its wheels.
The van was carrying five boys of ages 9 through 16 yrs. who all received relatively minor injuries but were transported to the hospital for treatment.
112-Magazine has the full STORY HERE plus this brief video report:
Submitted by Christian Lewalter, Feuerwehr Weblog.
A BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND, FIRE ENGINE collided with a department ambulance while both were responding to emergency calls Friday night.
WBFF-TV
The accident occurred just before 8 pm at an intersection on W. North Ave. The two medics were injured, one only slightly but the other was transported to the shock trauma center. There were no injuries among the firefighters and the two units had fairly minor crash damages. It was not clear whether they were responding to the same call or not with conflicting reports.
A MADISON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, FIRE TRUCK rolled over during a driver training session Monday evening leaving the truck demolished.
WLBT-TV
The accident occurred shortly after 5 pm Monday when the truck apparently drifted off the road into soft ground and then rolled over at least once. There were two firefighters in the cab and the driver was trapped for about 10 minutes while another crew worked with the Hurst tool to free him.
WAPT-TV
Both FF's were transported for relatively minor injuries. They were both wearing seat belts and that is being credited for their having survived the crash.
This video shows Dirk Steinhardt riding with Chicago Tower Ladder 14 last September. They were using a reserve rig when Dirk was there.
Ride along with Tower ladder 14 of the Chicago fire department responding to a fire. Engine 117, engine 113, truck 26 and a battalion were also on scene. It was actually a small electric fire. Truck 14 normally runs a new Pierce rig but it was out of service for some reason so that they had to use this older truck.
The rattles, groans, slow/dim/not working emergency lights when E252 responds (a the 1:20 mark) reminded me of another complication of multiple years of budget crisis.
The rate of vehicle replacement is slowed down, routine maintenance is deferred and shop staff are reduced.
A Spiral of Increasingly Worse Performance and Critical Failures
The optimum time to replace a vehicle is when its total costs, averaged over the vehicle's lifetime, are at a minimum. That is determined by looking at the operating expenses, maintenance, downtime and deprecation.
The New York State Comptroller shared data they accumulated on local government automobile maintenance costs:
During a 1980s budget crisis, a suburban Virginia county tried to get more than 200,000 miles from all vehicles. For police cruisers, the cost-per-mile maintenance approached $0.30 per mile.
The sweet spot for Ford Crown Vic police cruisers used by some large law enforcement agencies was 50,000 miles. After that point, major maintenance expenses (transmission, air conditioning compressors, electronics, etc.) would start accumulating.
Putting all of the factors creates the "Economic Life" of a vehicle:
What happens when a municipality tries to keep apparatus well beyond their economic life?
This past Saturday a fire engine of the Neuberg and Kammel fire brigade in Germany was traveling along a country road when it met an oncoming truck. The driver of the fire engine pulled as far to the right as he could in order to clear the other truck, but his right wheels went off the pavement onto the narrow shoulder.
photos via New-Facts
Unfortunately the ground was extremely wet from heavy rains and it gave way under the weight of the fire engine, causing the engine to leave the road and sink axle-deep into the mud.
The extrication problem was solved with the combined use of a heavy-duty tow truck and a large crane.
New-Facts
This condensed video of the removal operation shows the fine coordination between the two operators of the crane and tow truck:
New-Facts has the story and a 21-image photo gallery HERE.
THE PASCOAG HOSE CO. 1 in Burrillville, Rhode Island, was the victim of a vandal Thursday morning who caused over $10,000 damage to one of their fire engines. After 11 pm Wednesday night one or more people gained entry to the firehouse when only one volunteer was inside and asleep upstairs. The vandals then started up the truck and drove it away, going on a joyride around town and apparently down some dirt trails in a nearby parkland. Burrillville police were able to identify the engine's tire tracks in several locations.
Pascoag FD photo
Sometime later they returned the engine and parked it where it had been, but with noticeable damages to it that were immediately apparent to the members who came into the station on Thursday morning. Along with some scrapes on the sides and a handrail torn off, probably from the building, there was extensive damage to the undercarriage and a quantity of empty beer cans in the cab.
WJAR-TV Ch. 10 filed this video report on the incident and damage:
The entire situation indicates that it was probably a FD member who committed the offense.
An aerial truck was responding Monday afternoon to a chimney fire near Limbourg, Belgium, when it was involved in an accident that left the truck on its side and blocking the entire roadway.
all photos credit L'avenir
The accident happened around 1:30 pm when the 52-yr.-old firefighter driving the truck encountered another truck coming in the opposite direction and partly over the center line.
The firefighter took an evasive action to avoid a collision but lost control of the truck and it rolled over. He suffered minor injuries to a leg, an arm, and multiple bruises, but they were not serious.
* * *
La Meuse provided this brief raw video:
Sud Info has the STORY. L'avenir has a good photo gallery HERE.
Thanks to Christian Lewalter (Feuerwehr Weblog)
* * * * * * *
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A NAKED MAN JUMPED INTO A PORT ROYAL, South Carolina, fire engine Friday afternoon around 4 pm and drove off in a mad, crash-filled journey that killed one person and wrecked six other vehicles.
WSAV-TV image
The engine was parked in front of an apartment building while the firefighters were inside tending an emergency medical patient when the man drove off with the engine at a high rate of speed. After plowing through an intersection and crashing into six cars and trucks, he careened farther where he struck a pedestrian who was walking down the sidewalk alongside his brother. The impact killed the pedestrian immediately and caused the fire engine to veer off into a wooded area where it crashed into a tree, heavily damaging the firetruck.
Lottie Campenella / WSAT-TV
(no explanation given why the tree is being laddered.)
"I've never seen a fire truck come out of nowhere like that," (one witness) said. "The truck didn't have its lights on. I knew it wasn't a fireman behind the wheel. It was faster than I've ever seen any fire truck go, and I've seen my fair share of fire trucks."
The collision with the pedestrian appears to have caused the man to lose control of the fire truck. It crashed into a wooded area between a Dollar General store and a nearby bowling alley, authorities said. The crash badly damaged the truck and trapped the man inside, Beaufort Police Deputy Chief Dale McDorman said.
When a Beaufort County paramedic and two Beaufort police officers tried to free the man from the wreckage, the suspect began fighting them, McDorman said. The man was then subdued, arrested and taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash, McDorman said. The officers and the paramedic also were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries they suffered during the scuffle.
There has been no information released yet on who the madman is or where he came from to seemingly appear out of nowhere while naked.
JEREMY TIGHE, 18, A MEMBER OF the McCutchanville Volunteer Fire Department died Wednesday evening when the fire engine he was riding in left the roadway, partially overturned and "violently" struck a utility pole.
Lt. Brandon Cason, the driver, "was not injured seriously" in the accident, (Fire Department PIO) Gibson said, but the 24-year-old was taken to Deaconess Hospital. Gibson said he belived Cason has since been released from the hospital. "They were returning from a run when for some unknown reason their truck went off the side of the pavement," said Gibson in a phone interview Wednesday night.
The single-vehicle wreck occurred about 8:25 p.m. as the firetruck was traveling north on St. Joseph Avenue. It occurred only about a half-mile from the McCutchanville station on North St. Joseph Avenue.
"Our preliminary investigation indicates that the truck left the roadway and onto the shoulder for unknown reasons," Vanderburgh County Sheriff Eric Williams said in a news release.
Williams said there's no indication that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the wreck, but a sample of Cason's blood was taken.
Gibson said the McCutchanville Fire Department is shut down until further notice.
Today (Thursday) would have been Jeremy's 19th birthday.
A FIRETRUCK RESPONDING TO A CALL IN RHEINGAU, Germany, left the road and rolled down an embankment Monday morning, coming to rest against a tree.
All photos via Feuerwehr Rudesheim / Klein
The fire/rescue crews responding to the wreck tied it off and stabilized the truck so that it wouldn't continue its journey down the long embankment.
The small pumper from the Lorch fire brigade had three firefiighters on board, but none were seriously injured. All three were transported and treated for minor injuries.
* * *
The truck sustained an estimated 100,000-Euros damage.
How the Great Recession and Technology Change Two Unique Departments
As an engineering student in the 1970's, I followed the radical changes in fire suppression practices in Syracuse and Saint Louis. Along with the RAND operations research in New York City, we were just a few years away from flying cars.
Cutting age innovations
In reading Signal 99, it appears Syracuse has been hard-wired for innovation.
In a 1913 presentation by FDNY Chief Croker in Syracuse, he stated "Small communities like Syracuse do not need automotive fire apparatus."
Syracuse Chief Thomas Ryan added motorized tractors to Engine 1 and Truck 1 within a year.
Shrinking Syracuse in 1970s
Syracuse was facing a four-sided problem:
Ancient fire stations
Aging fire apparatus fleet
State legislation mandating a 40 hour work week for career firefighters, requiring a fourth platoon
Declining population (9% in a decade)
Chief Thomas Hanlon introduced a reorganization proposal in 1973 that would build seven new fire stations, purchase new apparatus and use innovative technology.
The size of the department would not change. To accomodate a fourth platoon of 125 members the department went from 18 to 12 fire stations and from 26 to 20 fire companies.
MAXI PUMPER
The first maxi pumper was a 1973 all-wheel drive 1500 gpm/500 gwt rig with a 50' telescoping waterway. Lets see the status of the innovations with the rig.
Engine 5 (IAFF Local 280 photo)
Automated Pump and Hydrant Controls
Designed in 1975 and implemented on Engine 3 in 1976, the radio-controlled automated hydrant valves were high maintenance and poor performers, discontinued after a couple of months. Same for the radio controlled module at the nozzle of the attack line.
The malfunction alert on the automated pump controls has shown up on other rigs.
Rapid Water
An additive designed to reduce the surface tension (friction loss) in water and allow more flow. RAND introduced it in FDNY in 1969 to increase the water flow in 1.75" attack lines. This would allow a reduction in fire company staffing.
The last Syracuse maxi-pumpers with the plumbing for the additive was four Emergency One pumpers purchased in 1982. Recent pumper purchases have Class A foam
Click HERE to read the 31 page, 3 MB .pdf copy of the RAND report on "Slippery Water"
Traffic pre-emption devices
First generation of the devices that provide responding apparatus a green light intersection. Good chance your rig uses a similar device.
Four-wheel drive
Last pumpers with four wheel drive capabilites were purchased in 1991, the skyrocketing cost of rigs and declining municipal budgets were affecting the apparatus specifications.
50' to 55' Telescoping waterway
Two Sutphen pumpers placed into service in 2000 are the first engines without a telescoping boom. Budget constraints and concern about the availability of a Tele-Squrt boom resulted in this decision for Engine 3 and Engine 7.
'
Engine 7 picture by Tom Shand, from Syracuse press release
Engine and Mini 7 responding:
MINI PUMPER
Originally designed to handle automobile and trash fires by itself, the mini-pumper had a 300 gpm pump, 200 gallon water tank, 750' of large diameter hose, radio-controlled master stream and two attack lines. It could function as the Maxi's hose wagon.
Four person engine company staffing is split between the Mini and the Maxi.
The pick-up truck sized four wheel drive rigs had transmission, brake and suspension problems. Larger medium duty rigs were introduced in 1977.
Change of focus
The fire department started providing ems first responder responses in the 1990's with the private ambulance company providing 9-1-1 service.
The first ems first responder mini was evaluated in 1994. Starting in 2002, new mini rigs were ems first responder with no fire suppression capability.
Eight of the ten engine companies have ems first responder rigs, two minis are ambulances. Based on the 2008 annual report, 62% of Syracuse responses are ems first-responder runs.
Meanwhile, in Saint Louis
When Neil Svetanics was appointed the Fire Chief of Saint Louis in 1986, the mayor required a significant reduction of the firefighter workforce.
Svetanics established the Total Quint Concept because of the mayor’s mandate. 30 quints replaced 30 engine companies and 12 truck companies.
Dennis Maag reported in Fire Apparatus Journal that St. Louis placed nine Smeal 2250 gpm pumpers in 2011, the first non-quints purchased by the city in two decades.
Eight existing 75' and 125' quints are undergoing refurbishment. The first rig is Engine 28's 2000 Spartan/Smeal 75' 2000 gpm/400 gwt quint. Recieved a rebuilt powertrain, new emergency lights, compartment doors, paint, suspension, radiator and brakes. Assigned as Truck 29.
References:
Shand, Tom W. and Reeves, David B. (2011) Signal 99: The Fire Apparatus of the Syracuse Fire Department. Grit Printing: Montoursville, PA. available at FSP Books (HERE)
Maag, Dennis J. (2011 September-October) "Updates: St. Louis Metro" Fire Apparatus Journal Vol 28, No 5, pages 12-13.
Maag, Dennis J. (2012 January-February) "Updates: St. Louis Metro" Fire Apparatus Journal Vol 29, No 1, pages 12 – 13.
Update, 9:30 am Eastern: Alcohol said to be determining factor. Scroll down.
CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT ENGINE 62 was involved in a collision Tuesday evening around 6:23 pm that injured ten people including four firefighters. The engine was responding to a medical call when it approached an intersection and slowed to look for traffic. All cars in the intersection had stopped, so the pumper proceded into the intersection. Without warning or reason, one of the stopped cars suddenly started forward and pulled into the path of the fire engine causing a destructive collision as the engine T-boned the right side of the car.
WSBT-TV image
The two adults and three children in the car were all trapped and had to be extricated. They were all transported in serious condition. A sixth passenger was only slightly injured. The four firefighters were also transported in good to fair condition.
Police are investigating and still trying to find out why the 18-yr.-old driver suddenly started driving the car when he did. The intersection is controlled by a 4-way stop sign. Some witnesses say that the engine had its lights on, but they did not hear the siren.
WLS-TV prepared this video report from the scene:
Chicago Tribune has the STORY.
The Sun-Times has more plus photos HERE.
Update, 9:30 am Eastern: The Chicago Tribune is now reporting that alcohol is suspected to be a contributing factor in the crash. The Tribune writes:
Authorities say they suspect alcohol played a role in the collision between a Chicago fire truck and a carload of people in the Far South Side that injured 10 people.
None of the victims — including three children and four Chicago firefighters — suffered life-threatening injuries when the truck, responding to a fire call, collided with a mid-size sedan at Halsted and 128th streets, police said. A female passenger did suffer a broken neck, authorities said.
One source said the sedan's driver, a man, had a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit. A second source said police were seeking felony charges against the driver. Both sources requested anonymity because they weren't cleared to discuss the matter publicly.
A police spokesman said he was awaiting further information and declined to comment.
AN 80-YR.-OLD WOMAN WAS KILLED SATURDAY when her car was struck broadside by Denver, Colorado, Engine 22 as it was responding to a house fire.
KMGH-TV image
Witnesses all told police that same story, that the firetruck had the green light at the intersection and was traveling at a reduced speed when the woman drove through her red light and directly into the engine's path. The engine's driver had no chance to avoid the collision and struck the car right at the driver's door.
KDVR-TV image
The fire engine pushed the car about 30 yards along the street and clipped two other cars along the way. The firefighters immediately went to the aid of the woman who had to be extricated before they could begin CPR on her. Unfortunately she arrived at the hospital DOA and was pronounced there. None of the passengers in the other two cars were injured.
CHRISTMAS DAY IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, THIS YEAR will be remembered mainly by the widespread flooding through the area. And the people in the northeast suburb of Eltham will remember it as the day the firetruck drove into the flood waters. Despite the signs and the S.O.P.'s to the contrary, this tanker driver for the Victoria Country Fire Authority misjudged the depth of the water.
The CFA officers were not amused and have opened an investigation into the performance of the driver who is one of the most experienced operators in the department. The Herald Sun is reporting:
Research Fire Brigade Capt Neville Stewart, who was not driving the truck, said the incident happened so quickly. "We weren't expecting it and then we just had to keep going, we couldn't stop it," he said.
The CFA's northwest metropolitan region acting operations manager, Tony O'Day, said the driver was one of the most experienced in the brigade. "It's an error of judgment," Mr O'Day said. "Once they started driving through the water, they were committed and made a decision to keep driving rather than stop. It's certainly not standard behaviour. We don't encourage it."
The crew got itself in deep trouble when it misjudged a signpost and sized up the water incorrectly.
Mr O'Day said people were always told not to drive through floodwaters because of the dangers, and the firefighters should have known better. He said the crew regretted the decision. "They are fairly shaken," Mr O'Day said.
Firegeezer got a kick out of the windshield wipers continuing to operate while under water. And as the tanker comes up out of the water, watch the captain open the cab door and let the water run out.
Thanks to the Gnome Handler for finding this gem.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ENGINE 1 WAS INVOLVED in a vehicle collision while responding to an emergency call Monday night. The accident occurred at an intersection around 9:15 pm when a car traveling on the cross street ran into the engine which had its lights and siren activated.
WGRZ-TV
The crash left the four firefighters with minor injuries as well as the driver of the car which was severely crumpled in the front end.
WIVB-TV
The firefighters immediately began first aid procedures on the civilian before they were all transported. One FF remained in the hospital overnight while the other three were released. However they will not be returning to work right away. The civilian also has non-life threatening injuries.
WIVB-TV prepared this video report from the scene:
The accident investigation is continuing this morning. No cause or charges have been decided yet.
FOUR PEOPLE INCLUDING TWO FIREFIGHTERS were injured Monday morning when a Los Angeles, California, Fire Department ambulance collided with an automobile at an intersection in North Hollywood.
KCBS-TV
The ambulance was responding to a call for an ambulance from a fire unit at a medical scene when the accident occurred around 9:20 am. News reports say that the LAFD spokesman reported that all four people were transported with minor and/or non-critical injuries. The two civilians that were injured were in the car that was struck. The ambulance was "non-drivable" and had to be towed away from the site.
LAPD Sgt. Mitzi Fierro said that the woman driving the car will be cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. "They were driving down the street, got into the intersection, the lights and sirens were on, they started making their turn, and hit the lady," Fierro said. "It was a really clear intersection, and she had an ample view of the approaching ambulance. She just didn't yield."
Ice cream filled tractor trailer splits open during recovery
Around 4 pm Friday a tractor trailer tipped over when attempting to make an off-ramp near Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Journal/Gazette has the story and images:
MANDATORY CREDIT Photo: The Journal-Gazette, Michelle Davies / AP
Archie Ingersoll, writing in the December 23rd Journal Gazette article: Ice cream spill closes I-69 lanes at Lima, has the Michelle Davies video of the recovery efforts that lead to the failure of the trailer and spilling of the ice cream.
A member from the Health Department checks the condition of ice cream that spilled on Interstate 69, Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Police said 40,000 pounds of ice cream spilled from a semitrailer closing two lanes of I-69 at the start of the holiday weekend.
MANDATORY CREDIT. Photo: The Journal-Gazette, Michelle Davies / AP
I am torn between the 56 foot sperm whale that exploded during transport and the 200 ton marine engine that required construction of a road as part of the recovery.
FOR THE PAST NINE MONTHS, SINCE MARCH a brand new $1 million ladder truck has been parked in a Quebec City, Quebec, firehouse due to a squabble over training and licensing issues. The new truck is a tiller truck and the first one Quebec has had in over 20 years, so the expertise in operating it has been lost over time.
The fire department sent one of their drivers down to the U. S. to receive enough training that he could come back and instruct the other drivers on the technique. But then some bureaucrat in the city government proclaimed that since it is a tractor-trailer rig, then all the operators need to hold a Class 1 truck drivers license. That immediately brought the issue into the realm of the firefighters union who said, in so many French words, Baloney!
The firefighters have no problem with training on the tiller, but to insist that they have to take and pass the commercial truck driver's test is unneccesary. The Emergency Vehicle driving license that they currently hold is considered good enough for all emergency vehicles.
The view from the safest seat in the fire department. (TVA Nouvelles)
Now the stalemate is on while the fire chief is telling the citizens that the truck will go into service in February, 11 months after taking delivery. The firefighters say that's fine, as long as they don't have to pass a Provincial test to do it.
Shot just south of Paris, France in Linas at l'Autodrome de Linas –Montlhéry, this 1.58 mile oval track, built in 1924, features banks as steep as 51 degrees, which is more than double the standard incline of most NASCAR ovals.
Chosen by Ken for this specific reason, the ramp-like banking proved to be a unique and exciting challenge. The driving physics for the stunts performed were totally unknown until Ken attempted the maneuvers during filming.
Ken Block (born November 21, 1967, in Long Beach, California), is a professional rally driver with the Monster World Rally Team. Block is also one of the co-founders and recently appointed Chief Brand Officer of DC Shoes.
Block has also competed in many action sports events including skateboarding, snowboarding, and motocross. Wikipedia link.
Mike "FossilMedic" Ward
thanks to Dave Statter for the link to the video, seen by 39 million viewers.
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