Janice Carpio, KFOX News at Nine
One fire station is out two trucks after engines from their own fire station collided. Fire officials believe they know what caused the accident, and an older truck that was in need of maintenance may be to blame.
Fortunately no one was hurt in the collision thanks to the quick thinking of the driver.
The engine was on its way to get inspected when the collision occurred. So far fire officials believe the brakes of the older 60,000 pound truck went out, causing it to ram into a similar engine that weighs about 20,000 pounds more. The damage was severe on the smaller truck, but it could've been worse.
"There was a passenger vehicle on his left hand side and instead of turning over to avoid hitting the fire truck, he could've possibly hit the vehicle, so he decided to go towards the fire truck," said El Paso Fire Department Lt. Mario Hernandez. "Had this vehicle would've hit one of the civilian vehicles or passenger vehicles it could've easily done heavy damage to it because these vehicles do weigh several tons."
Though it could take several weeks to get the engines back on the road, there are reserves in place until the engines are fixed.
"We do have several apparatuses that we do have around the city and they are put into service in situations like this so as far as protection for the public, it's never compromised," said Hernandez.
Fire officials say these accidents are rare and that firefighters do take defensive driving courses through their careers. As for the damage, it's estimated at about $15,000 for each truck and that is expected to come out of the fire department's budget.
