Firetruck, van collide; 2 die

I am so sorry for your loss, your in my thoughts and prayers. My heart sunk when I heard the details this morning. I couldnt imagine coming to the scene and seeing this. So tragic.

Emergency vehicles I beleive by law have the right to proceed through intersections against red lights and signs as long as they show DO REGUARD FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS. In this case the fire truck broad sided a van. Pushed the van 110 yards(330 feet) down the road and KILLED TWO PEOPLE. The fire truck was responding to a CAR FIRE and it appears there was no LIFE OR PROPERTY in jeopardy, except the car. And seldom do they save the car. My own feeling is that DO REGUARD FOR SAFETY was not on the front burner. And the cost was TWO LIVES!

Cliff wrote:

Emergency vehicles I beleive by law have the right to proceed through intersections against red lights and signs as long as they show DO REGUARD FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS. In this case the fire truck broad sided a van. Pushed the van 110 yards(330 feet) down the road and KILLED TWO PEOPLE. The fire truck was responding to a CAR FIRE and it appears there was no LIFE OR PROPERTY in jeopardy, except the car. And seldom do they save the car. My own feeling is that DO REGUARD FOR SAFETY was not on the front burner. And the cost was TWO LIVES!

When a fire truck has it's lights on and sirens going, you do not pull out in front of one, stop sign or not. That's just stupid.

Also, at least one life could have been saved if the child was in a car seat!

jjleaver wrote:

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When a fire truck has it's lights on and sirens going, you do not pull out in front of one, stop sign or not. That's just stupid.
Also, at least one life could have been saved if the child was in a car seat!

Would have, could have, should have. This is a very tragic accident, and I doubt that a car seat would have made a lick of difference (take a look at that mangled van). This is all very sad, and it sounds like an unfortunate accident.

I aways see "almost accidents" when police or fire sirens are blazing and people in the vehicles are driving in a zombie like state. How can you not see or hear those sirens. People need to have not only their ears open but also their eyes!!! To the driver of the truck, its not your fault, I am sure you where doing your job properly.

110 yards? Not that I've ever driven a fire truck, but it seems like you'd have to be going way too fast to not be able to stop in a shorter distance than the length of a football field! Especially with a sideways minivan dragging in front of the truck...every emergency vehicle I've seen slows and double checks people are moving out of the way at an intersection...this obviously didn't happen here.

Cliff wrote:

Emergency vehicles I beleive by law have the right to proceed through intersections against red lights and signs as long as they show DO REGUARD FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS. In this case the fire truck broad sided a van. Pushed the van 110 yards(330 feet) down the road and KILLED TWO PEOPLE. The fire truck was responding to a CAR FIRE and it appears there was no LIFE OR PROPERTY in jeopardy, except the car. And seldom do they save the car. My own feeling is that DO REGUARD FOR SAFETY was not on the front burner. And the cost was TWO LIVES!

I'm going to assume that you knew the 2 people who were killed and are upset at this tragic loss of life. My condolences to all the family and friends.

However, the fire truck did not have a stop sign, the van did. The fire truck swerved to the left trying to avoid the van to no avail. It is unfair to blame the fire fighter who was drving for this accident.

According to this man's family, he was hard of hearing. If they knew this, why did they allow him to drive? What a tragic accidents!!! My prayers are with the family.

It's "due regard," and what is this need to place blame? That will be sorted out later by people who have all the facts. The point is there was loss of life and emotional scars that will undoubtedly never heal.

Cliff wrote:

Emergency vehicles I beleive by law have the right to proceed through intersections against red lights and signs as long as they show DO REGUARD FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS. In this case the fire truck broad sided a van. Pushed the van 110 yards(330 feet) down the road and KILLED TWO PEOPLE. The fire truck was responding to a CAR FIRE and it appears there was no LIFE OR PROPERTY in jeopardy, except the car. And seldom do they save the car. My own feeling is that DO REGUARD FOR SAFETY was not on the front burner. And the cost was TWO LIVES!

Yes the truck was responding to a CAR FIRE, but if you listen to the 911 tapes (there's a link on cantonrep.com ) the caller clearly states that while the car (truck actually) is on fire it has rolled up against the house. So there was property and maybe even life in jeopardy... As far as how far the fire truck pushed the minivan. How do we know that speed was the only factor in how far the van was pushed? How are we to know that maybe on impact the driver of the fire trucks foot wasn't thrown off the brake or even pushed onto the gas pedal which could have increased the distance the vehicle was pushed? WE DON'T. Sure is easy to judge anonymously from the internet without all of th facts though isn't it?

Cliff wrote:

Emergency vehicles I beleive by law have the right to proceed through intersections against red lights and signs as long as they show DO REGUARD FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OTHER DRIVERS. In this case the fire truck broad sided a van. Pushed the van 110 yards(330 feet) down the road and KILLED TWO PEOPLE. The fire truck was responding to a CAR FIRE and it appears there was no LIFE OR PROPERTY in jeopardy, except the car. And seldom do they save the car. My own feeling is that DO REGUARD FOR SAFETY was not on the front burner. And the cost was TWO LIVES!

Uh,the way i understand this is the fire truck was responding to an old pick up truck fire that was on fire near a house. So, open mouth and take foot out stupid. It's a good thing you are a nobody and don't run with the safety forces as presumptuous as you are, that would be scary and i surely wouldn't want you to be on a 911 call that i made.

Sammie wrote:

According to this man's family, he was hard of hearing. If they knew this, why did they allow him to drive? What a tragic accidents!!! My prayers are with the family.

Maybe they did discourge it but unless family has complete control over a crepid elderly member, that member is going to basically be free to do whatever they want, and surely will. Sometimes the elderly just can't except they aren't what they use to be and want to maintain their independence and don't think about the concequences.

isaiditdealwithit wrote:

<quoted text>Maybe they did discourge it but unless family has complete control over a crepid elderly member, that member is going to basically be free to do whatever they want, and surely will. Sometimes the elderly just can't except they aren't what they use to be and want to maintain their independence and don't think about the concequences.

What is crepid?

see crepid...
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1315486812...

This was an accident; no one wanted something like this to happen. The driver of the Fire Truck was a family member... it was an accident. Keep them all in your prayers.

wow wrote:

110 yards? Not that I've ever driven a fire truck,

And this is where you probably should've shut up.

This story is unbelievable. It's terrible that people died. It's terribe that it turned out they were related. However what's really unbelievable are the posts. I am amazed at all the people trying to armchair quaterback this one and assign blame to someone. How do you suppose your comments add any enlightenment to the situation? How do you suppose your comments help the grieving families? Talk about living in a pagan world. Imagine all the little all-knowing gods that seem to be walking around the area who can tell us what happened.

Intelligent One wrote:

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And this is where you probably should've shut up.

According to drivetosurvive.org , "Skidding to a stop in a fire truck will take around 194 feet. Let’s add that to the reaction distance and we see that it takes around 314 feet to stop a fire truck while traveling 55 MPH on dry roads."

Speed limit on the streets involved: 25mph.

Prying Eyes wrote:

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I'm going to assume that you knew the 2 people who were killed and are upset at this tragic loss of life. My condolences to all the family and friends.
However, the fire truck did not have a stop sign, the van did. The fire truck swerved to the left trying to avoid the van to no avail. It is unfair to blame the fire fighter who was drving for this accident.

Hmmm, y'all must know sumthin' the ABJ didn't. They reported that it was a four way stop.

That bein' the case, state law says that emergency vehicles still have to obey all traffic laws, includin' slowin' down and/or comin' to a complete stop at a lighted or signed intersection. With their lights and siren, they of course, have the right of way after they ascertain other traffic has stopped.

As unfortunate as this is, it appears that the firetruck was travelin' at an excessive rate of speed, blew the stop sign and caused the tragic event.

My thoughts and prayers go to the families.

wow wrote:

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According to drivetosurvive.org , "Skidding to a stop in a fire truck will take around 194 feet. Let’s add that to the reaction distance and we see that it takes around 314 feet to stop a fire truck while traveling 55 MPH on dry roads."
Speed limit on the streets involved: 25mph.

Irregardless, the gentleman in the van did not yield to the right of way.

It's just a shame lives were lost.