One: A jury in Staten Island recently awarded $11 million dollars
to the family of a woman who was killed when a fire apparatus, responding to
a reported downed electrical wire, drove through a red light and crushed woman
in her car. The woman’s car was travelling through a green light during
heavy rain when the speeding ladder truck, with its lights and sirens blaring,
pinioned the woman to the A-post. While the Department investigation exonerated
the firefighters of all blame, the jury in its award cited the driver of the
apparatus as being “100%” responsible for the operation of the ladder
truck. During the testimony given by the driver of the apparatus it was stated
that he knew that the call was only a small fire caused by a downed wire and
that the ladder would be recalled before reaching the scene. Witnesses to the
crash stated that the truck never slowed down prior to entering the intersection.
There was no word as to whether the deceased driver was cited for failure to
yield to an emergency vehicle.
Two: Five French firefighters were struck and killed on a highway in southern France. The firefighters, working the scene of an accident were struck from behind as they were attempting to place scene barriers around a minor accident. Three of the firefighters were killed instantly, and two others were thrown into a river by the impact.
Three: The report of smoke inside of a closed flower shop resulted in thirty firefighters being treated for exposure to vaporized pesticide. Expecting to find a fire inside of a flower warehouse, investigating crews spent as long as thirty minutes looking for the source of the smoke, without air packs, before they realized their mistake. Oooops.Complaining of tightness in their chests, and shortness of breath all thirty firefighters were taken to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment. A fire department spokesperson indicated while there the lethal concentration of the pesticide was listed at 100%, as far as could be determined, the concentration of chemical was much lower, as low as 14%. Whew, that would make me feel better.
How would you respond to smoke inside of a building?
Four: Fire-Medic loses legs in traffic accident. The medic
was injured when a tractor-trailer rig lost control on a rain slicked roadway
and slid into the accident scene. While the accident was related to poor weather,
it was emphasized that the emergency crews operating at the scene had applied
proper scene procedures to protect the crash site.
The medic lost his legs, but the driver of the truck was cited for ‘failure
to reduce speed’. Be careful out there, you just never know.