The accident happened about 5:30 a.m. when Memphis Fire Department's Engine Company 8, speeding south on Mississippi, hit ladder Truck 3, heading west on McLemore.
Lt. Dennis Lorenz and Pvt. Terry Malone were taken to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis in critical condition.
Lorenz, who had broken leg bones, was in surgery Wednesday and was later upgraded to serious condition.
Malone, who had back, neck and head injuries, was upgraded to good condition.
Six other firefighters were treated for minor injuries.
Another truck got to the scene of the vacant house fire at 572 Lucy. There was no delay in putting out the fire, said deputy director Claude Talford.
It's not uncommon for fire trucks to be involved in crashes, fire officials said, but it is rare for them to smash into each other.
And one national expert said the crash might have been prevented if the trucks had been equipped with a sophisticated mapping system.
The vehicles, carrying four people each, weigh between 20 and 30 tons, Talford said.
The ladder truck overturned when it hit the engine, which carries water-filled tanks.
"With a 20-ton vehicle, there's no such thing as stopping on a dime," Talford said.
A crew of 13, on two engines, and a truck are sent out for a normal call, Talford said.
Fire department personnel must have five years on the job before they can drive trucks.
"We have driver training," Talford said.
"There is a written and practical exam and they have to go through an obstacle course."
The last time two Memphis fire trucks collided was in January 1964, at Second and Jefferson.
There were no deaths, but seven injuries.
Fire trucks are involved in thousands of accidents a year, said national emergency vehicle failure analyst Ralph Craven.
But fire trucks hitting each other only happens about a dozen times a year.
"There's a whole myriad of reasons why these things happen," he said.
If drivers don't have a mapping system in the vehicle, they're at higher risk for accidents, said Craven, who's done safety research for groups such as the Fire Department Safety Officers Association.
About 50 percent of firefighter deaths happen on the way to or from emergencies, he said.
Memphis fire trucks don't have automatic vehicle locators, said Sharlene Warren, chief of staff operations.
But fire officials are working on getting the units, which allow drivers to know the position of other trucks at all times.
"There's no way to know whether it would have helped in this case," she said. "But it may have."
Fire officials couldn't provide an estimate of the damage to the vehicles.
Brand new, the truck would cost about $500,000 and an engine about $350,000. But the engine was about 10 years old, officials said.
- Sherri Drake: 529-2510
Copyright, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used with permission. (http://www.gomemphis.com).
