The Waldoboro Fire Dept.’s response to a fire alarm call, Oct. 6, led to more than $14,000 in costs to the town.
According to Town Manager John Spear’s Oct. 23 report to selectmen, “Fire Engine 2, driven by Lt. William Bragg, got stuck in the driveway at 440 Dutch Neck Rd. Allegedly the driveway was quite narrow and while slowly rounding a curve the truck slid to the right and down an embankment and came to rest against a couple of fir trees.”
Damage to the vehicle was minimal, Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer said. The body of the truck sustained scratches and a small dent, where it came to rest on the trees. When put in service in January 2011, the cost of the new truck was $380,000.
Spear said a call was made to Hillside Collision Center, who came to the scene and advised Smeltzer that their equipment was not sufficient to bring the truck back up the three-to-four-foot drop and onto the roadway without the chance of further damage, given the narrow driveway.
At Hillside’s recommendation, R. Stewarts Heavy Hauling of South Portland was called to the scene. They brought two pieces of equipment and tried several methods to lift Engine 2 before placing a heavy-duty wrecker in the field to stabilize the fire truck. At the end of the day a third piece of towing equipment was needed to bring that lower truck back to the road. Spear said it took 6-7 hours to lift Engine 2 back up onto the driveway.
“Due to the narrowness of the driveway, the embankment and the desire not to damage the truck it took several hours to complete the operation,” Spear reported.
A representative of Pierce Manufacturing, the builders of Engine 2, has assessed the damage.
“He indicated that he didn’t feel there was any structural damage,” Spear said. He said the truck needs an alignment and that a more detailed inspection of the exhaust system is expected. The fire truck remains in service, he said.
Spear said the bill from Stewarts is for $13,750 and that Hillside’s is $510. He said there would also be costs to repair Engine 2’s body and some property damage at the site of the incident. He said insurance will cover costs, but there is a $1000 deductible on the policy.
“It was an expensive little problem,” Spear said. “No doubt about it.”
Smeltzer said the truck needed to be lifted with straps, rather than pulled onto the road, in order to avoid a roll-over. He said he has instituted a new policy that calls for an officer on the scene to get out of the fire truck and spot it as it proceeds on narrow roads and driveways, as is done when backing up.
“Folks with narrow driveways need to be cognizant of the fact that getting emergency vehicles to their homes could be potentially difficult,” Spear said. He said this situation was not a true emergency, but that a similar incident with an ambulance could mean the difference between life and death.
“We were lucky nobody got hurt,” Spear said.
