Blaze Causes $800,000 in Damage to Indianapolis Fire Trucks

May 30, 2007
A fire call turned the tables on the Indianapolis Fire Department on May 26.

INDIANAPOLIS-- The Indianapolis Fire Department is in the business of fighting fires. But when a call comes out that involves the department, it becomes personal. That was the case Saturday morning, as a call came in on South Belmont.

"It's almost like a disbelief. Kind of like you can't believe it's happening. Like you said, fire department becomes the victim," IFD Chief James Greeson said.

A fire call turned the tables on the Indianapolis Fire Department Saturday morning. A truck, inside IFD's maintenance facility, caught fire.

"They had to cut the gate and make forceable entry into the shops. They could see smoke coming out of the vents and some of the doors of the shop. They hit a box alarm we had a working fire," IFD Captain Gregg Harris said.

The garage was full of IFD's fire trucks.

"There are 3 of the IFD engines in the bays and one senior aerial ladder. A senior aerial is about a million dollars, a typical engine now is $350,000. There's over $2 million of fire equipment in here for service," Chief Greeson said.

Ironically, the truck that was on fire, was in for maintenance, because it was overheating. The sprinkler system saved the back portion of this truck, along with several others.

Investigators are looking into the cause. Crews have shifted trucks around to ensure fire coverage across the city.

Damage is estimated at $800,000. That includes not only the truck, but smoke and water damage inside the maintenance facility.

Republished with permission of WISH-TV.

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