Parking Garage Collapses Under Chicago Fire Apparatus

Aug. 6, 2019
A Chicago firefighter in Engine No. 126 was injured when a two-story parking garage partially collapsed, leaving the front of the apparatus teetering over the hole.

A Chicago firefighter was injured Tuesday after a parking garage partially collapsed beneath the fire apparatus he was in.

The collapse happened at around 10:40 a.m. at a nursing home in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood, WGN-TV reports. The fire department's Engine No. 126, as well as an ambulance, had been called to nursing home because of a medical emergency.

After the apparatus had parked on the top section of the two-story garage, the concrete gave way beneath the vehicle. The driver was able to crawl out the rear door of the apparatus, and he was taken to the hospital in stable condition with back pain, according to WGN.

"So the two front wheels of the engine are not supported right now. It's being supported by the bumper," Special Operations Chief Tim Walsh told reporters at a press conference.

The weight of the apparatus was reduced to around 38,000 pounds after water was drained from the vehicle. A crane will probably be used to lift the apparatus from its concrete perch, WGN added.