More than a dozen NYC firefighters were injured Shabbos morning after two of their rescue trucks collided while responding to a call in Brooklyn.
Investigators say Engine 236 was traveling westbound on Hegeman Avenue in East New York when it slammed into the rear of Ladder 107 at the corner of Ashford Street, causing the fire truck to flip over on it’s side, slam into a tree and land partially on a passenger vehicle.
Fire officials say the two trucks were responding to a call for a gas leak nearby.
Witnesses say both were traveling fast with their sirens blaring when they collided.
The FDNY says four firefighters were seriously hurt. Six others suffered minor injuries.
One additional firefighter who was trapped for two hours inside one of the trucks gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was freed.
All were taken to area hospitals and treated for their injuries.
No civilians were hurt.
Authorities are still looking into the cause of the crash.
(Source: NY1)
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4 Responses
“Authorities are still looking into the cause of the crash”
Do we need to be a rocket scientist? Two truck with identical blearing sirens and the drivers could not hear each other?
Secondly, FDNY drivers are under a lot of pressure to get to calls faster than fast because of many fire houses that were closed under the Bloomberg administration. More are to close within the next few months and the FDNY are trying their hardest to get to calls to save lives.
FDNY has been getting into major accidents almost every week.
The “many firehouses” was, as I recall, six.
The distribution of firehouses is decades old and has little to do with how the City has developed or reflect the realities of 2009.
IMO, this has less to do with the “pressure to get to calls faster” than with poor driving.
Thank You to all the heroes of the FDNY for all the great work that you do. Keep up the good work!
Everyone reading this story should be praying for the safety of the brave men and women of the FDNY. They are there for NYC 24/7 365 days a year. This was just a terrible accident and may those injured recover quickly and completely. Michael Bloomberg with his business only mentality will only make things worse for all New Yorkers with his willingness to close firehouses to save money. The Firefighters Union has come out for Thompson in good part because of Bloomberg’s past actions and threats of more closings. I stand with the FDNY and have very strong ties to them.