Two Westminster firefighters came very close to disaster Saturday night when the back wall of the third floor of the Columbia Hotel collapsed onto the tower truck bucket they were standing on while fighting a massive fire there.
The bucket held firm against the collapsing wall, very possibly saving their lives. The two firefighters were injured, but were able to climb back down and walk to an ambulance. The truck is out of service and will take months and thousands of dollars to repair. Westminster Fire Chief Brenton MacAloney said it could have been much worse.
Before the collapse, Westminster Firefighters Brett Duncan and Kyle Butterfield were in the bucket, 30 feet off the ground, pouring water into the building's third floor. Westminster Firefighter David Monty was below, controlling the water to the bucket's hose. When the 8-inch-thick brick wall collapsed, it struck the platform, spraying the truck with bricks and other rubble. Chief MacAloney said the force was so great when the wall hit that the platform and the ladder holding it up dropped five feet before rebounding.
What happened in the bucket was just short of a miracle. The fire chief said the two firefighters don't remember exactly what they did, but he believes they ducked when they saw the wall falling. One suffered leg injuries and the other was hit in the head and back with bricks and rubble.
Fortunately, the bucket and the ladder are made of heavy steel, the chief said. Some welds broke and the steel cage around the bucket bent, but the bucket held up against the weight of the tons of bricks.
Westminster had not skimped when it bought the $800,000 truck. Everything about the ladder and bucket was solid. He said if the bucket had sheared off and dropped to the ground, the firefighters would have been buried under piles of bricks.
As it was, bricks crushed two cars parked near the Westminster firetruck.
As soon as he saw what happened, Firefighter Monty rushed up the ladder to assist the other two firefighters. He and Firefighter Butterfield were able to help Firefighter Duncan and the three of them headed back to the ground.
Chief MacAloney said the truck's hose, operated from the ground, continued to pour water onto the fire for the next six hours.
Firefighter Butterfield, a full-time firefighter, took his next shift off, but is now back to work. Firefighter Duncan, a part-time firefighter who teaches at Overlook Middle School in Ashburnham, is still out of work with pain and his injuries are still being monitored. Neither suffered serious injury.
Chief MacAloney noted that the three firefighters were not on duty at the time of the fire. They were called in because the on-duty firefighters had been sent to Fitchburg to watch that city's Oak Hill Station while Fitchburg fought the fire. When Westminster was also called to the fire scene, the three firefighters were called in.
The last time they worked together was the Johnsonia Hotel fire in June in Fitchburg.
The truck looks like it has been in a brawl. There are broken lights, both windshields are smashed, there are dings and scratches all over the front of the vehicle. Chief MacAloney said the amount of damage that is not visible will decide how much will be spent on repairs.
"They will have to go through every weld," he said.
A rough estimate of the repair cost is $50,000, but it could be more. The truck, built by KME of Pennsylvania in 2005, would cost $1 million to replace.
Until it is replaced, the Westminster Fire Department will rely on mutual aid. It is the department's only ladder truck.
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