After four accidents in 26 hours over the Fourth of July weekend, Chief Thomas W. Carr sent a department-wide e-mail saying changes must be made in drivers' performance to avoid future harm to firefighters and civilians.
``I am afraid we continue on the path to catastrophe,'' he wrote in the e-mail, according to a report in Friday's edition of The Washington Post.
In May 2003, a Post report showed the department risked losing its insurance after 1,100 accidents in the previous five years.
A review found many of the accidents, which resulted in one motorist death and more than a dozen injuries, could have been prevented if truck drivers had slowed before entering intersections or followed other safety procedures.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2004, department vehicles were involved in 117 collisions that led to 182 claims.
The county still has insurance coverage through the Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., but the insurer raised the annual premium 17 percent last month from $1.38 million to $1.62 million.
County fire administrator Gordon Aoyagi said previous efforts to change driving habits have not had a lasting effect.
``Their behavior is modified for a certain period of time and then what happens over time, the adrenaline and excitement of responding to calls begins to take over.''
Aoyagi blamed the high accident rate on a spate of recent retirements and a shortage of money for training. Meanwhile the number of emergency calls increased, he said.
The department is considering changes to improve driver safety. Those include requiring crews that arrive on a scene first to tell other vehicles on the way to slow down if the incident is minor.
The department may also limit the number of firefighters who can drive the trucks, Carr said. Currently, firefighters above a certain career level can drive.
Information from: The Washington Post
