Five Albrightsville, PA firefighters were involved in an overturned apparatus accident Jan. 11 while responding to a motor vehicle entrapment call. Inclement weather is believed to be the primary factor behind the accident, according to Jim Miller, assistant engineer and president of Albrightsville Fire Department.
According to Miller, the vehicle entrapment call came into the department at 5:30 p.m. at which point five of the eight active Albrightsville firefighters responded. They were Fire Chief Bruce Berger, 40, Captain Ronald Berger, 57, Safety Officer John Fitting, 55, Junior Ryan Kinsey, 15, and Junior Audrey Bushey, 15. All are of Albrightsville. The apparatus deployed in response was a 1651 Pumper Rescue Closed Cab Pierce Quantum.
"It had been snowing all day, changing to ice and sleet in the early evening," Miller said. "There must have been at least two to three inches of slush on the ground at the time of the [apparatus] accident."
Fire Chief Berger was driving towards the scene of the accident in Kidder Township when another car driving down the middle of the road in the opposite direction forced him to swerve the truck slightly onto the side of the road. It was at this point that the rear wheels of the apparatus accumulated a layer of ice and sleet that caused it to fish tail and eventually overturn once the front wheels returned fully to the road and gained traction, according to Miller.
"The truck laid right over and slid for approximately one hundred feet," he said. "It slid into a telephone pole and luckily there was no other traffic coming in either direction or the accident could have been a lot worse."
Fire Chief Berger called in the accident using a hand held radio and a rescue brush truck following close behind in response to the initial accident call was the first to respond, according to Miller.
"Two heavy rescue teams from Monroe and Carbon counties arrived soon after. The cutters and jaws were used to clip around the front window to free fire chief Berger and Captain Berger. The two juniors climbed out on their own using the doors in the rear of the truck. The safety officer escaped after spreaders were used as a wedge to raise the truck slightly enough to allow his leg to be freed from underneath one of the side windows. The entire extrication took less than five minutes," he said.
Kinsey, Bushey, and the fire chief were taken to the Pocono Medical Center in East Stroudsburg. They were treated for minor injuries and released. As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12 Fire Chief Berger was still being held in stable condition after being treated for fractured ribs. He is expected to be released by Thursday, Jan. 13.
Captain Berger and Fitting were taken to Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown. Captain Berger remains in serious condition after complaining of shortness of breath at the scene of the accident and Thitting is listed as stable pending surgery to repair a broken leg. It is not known when they are expected to be released.
According to Miller, the apparatus involved is believed to be a total write off.
"The equipment has been totaled but there will be an insurance review tomorrow," he said. "The cab held up well and really saved any of them from any further injury. A stress de-briefer has been scheduled for this Saturday at 6:30 p.m."
According to Miller the Juniors will return to active duty right away.
"I'd just like to extend my thanks to all the crews that came out and responded so quickly," he said. "I'd also like to say thanks to Fire Commissioner Ed Mann who personally called the two Juniors to check on them and who has been of enormous help throughout this entire situation."
