By PHYLLIS J. ZORN
Courtesy of Hays Daily News
RUSSELL, Kansas -- The Paradise fire truck whose failed brakes resulted
in the death of Russell Fire Chief Earl Hemphill on April 11 was known to
have brake problems several months earlier.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol's accident report, fire truck 301, a
1980 GMC, crested a hill at 62 mph when the driver, Justin A. Frye, 25,
Paradise, saw the scene of an accident below.
The earlier accident was the reason the Paradise and Russell County rescue
units responded to the location north of Russell.
Hemphill was directing traffic when he was struck and killed in the second
collision.
The patrol's accident report states that Frye told troopers it seemed fire
truck 301 always was having mechanical problems and was unsafe. Frye said
the brakes on truck 301 had failed about six months earlier.
On the way to a fire, both the front and back tires locked up. On the return
to the fire station, the brakes worked. When the truck was being backed into
the garage bay, the brakes failed, resulting in a minor accident. Steve
Eickhoff, a mechanic at Masters Oil in Natoma, was contacted about the
brakes.
Eickhoff examined the truck and discovered the left front brake line was
cracked. He removed the line and took it to the shop to repair it. When he
brought it back, Frye helped him reflare the line, and Eickhoff put it back
on the truck. The patrol report includes a copy of a mechanical inspection
of the truck performed by Eickhoff. The inspection is dated Aug. 23 and is
signed by both Eickhoff and fire Chief John Finkenbinder of the
Waldo-Paradise-Natoma rural fire district.
Mike Cameron, spokesman for the State Fire Marshal's Office, said state
regulations require regular inspections of all fire equipment and a record
of those inspections to be sent to the fire marshal's office annually. The
inspection is required to include the brake system, exhaust, fuel, steering,
suspension, frame, tires, electrical and other components of fire trucks.
"I searched our database that has records available back as far as 1993, the
year the regulation went into effect, and was unable to find any record of
inspections for (the) Waldo-Paradise-Natoma Fire Department Truck No. 3 or
any other apparatus for that fire department," Cameron said.
Elena Nuss, assistant state fire marshal, said this morning she has not yet
been in touch with the department's legal counsel and does not know whether
any action can or will be taken by the fire marshal's office.
Finkenbinder did not respond this morning to messages left on his answering
machine and with his son.
Frye's statement to troopers was that he took his foot off the gas pedal
when he saw the accident scene at the bottom of the hill on April 11. When
he stepped on the brake pedal, it went to the floor with no effect. He
radioed, "No brakes," to warn the other firefighters at the scene and
swerved around a trooper's car, then pulled back into the southbound lane of
the highway.
The truck then hit a 1999 Ford driven by Rachelle L. Standley, 28, Russell,
and Hemphill, who was directing traffic at the scene.
Then fire truck swerved into the west ditch and overturned, coming to rest
on its top. The tank separated from the truck. Frye, who was not wearing a
seat belt, was ejected from the cab.
A trooper noted that morning the left front brake line on the truck was
leaking and that the brake drum area showed damage from brake fluid
contamination. There was little brake fluid in the reservoir.
When the truck was rolled back onto its wheels, one trooper climbed into the
cab and stepped on the brake while another watched the left front brakes.
The pedal went all the way to the floor with "no braking action," the
patrol's report states.
The truck was inspected more thoroughly after it was towed to Hays. Troopers
determined that besides the leaking brake line that had allowed the brake
fluid to seep out, an add-on emergency brake was in the release position.
The original emergency brake was disconnected. The front piston and seal
were leaking out of the brake dust cover. A piece of plastic from the brake
dust cover was wedged between the brake shoe and wheel cylinder, preventing
the brake from making a full return. The dust cover itself was broken in
several places, and caulk or some other adhesive had been used to hold the
broken pieces in place, the patrol's report states.
Troopers found the automatic transmission control shifted into neutral.
Frye was cited Tuesday for driving too fast for conditions and operating an
unsafe vehicle.
Russell County Attorney Daniel Krug said he received a copy of the patrol's
report Tuesday but has not read through it. He anticipates receiving
additional information from the patrol and has not decided if the citations
will be the only charges.
"I assume there's still more coming," Krug said. "We're reviewing it right
now."
