N.Y. Town Fire Station Damaged by Ladder Truck

Oct. 05--A City of Tonawanda ladder truck was damaged Tuesday when the firefighter driving it accidentally hit a brick support pillar while pulling out of the fire station.

The accident occurred around 3:30 p.m. as the department was responding to a report of natural gas inside a home.

Fire Chief Charles Stuart said driver error is likely to blame, and an investigation was still underway Tuesday evening as to what might have caused the mishap. The employee who was driving the truck was not identified.

"It appears (the driver) made an error in judgment while turning as he left the bay," Stuart said. "It looks like he started the turn too early."

He said Tuesday evening no damage estimate had been compiled, adding he'll know more about "how and when" repairs will be made. Damage to the ladder truck is significant but superficial, he said. The truck remains useable.

City Engineer Jason LaMonaco inspected the damage to the pillar, situated between the station's doors to bays 1 and 2. An outside structural engineer was also brought in to certify the building's integrity, Stuart said.

"Hopefully we'll be able to shore that up better," Mayor Ron Pilozzi said of the incident, adding he's unsure of the amount of damage to the truck. "My initial concern was the building."

Stuart said firefighters used equipment designed to shore up buildings to support the pillar, and the outside engineer "secured them a little better."

Pilozzi said city police are investigating the accident.

Ladder 1 has been in service since Fall 2008 and is the newest vehicle of the department's fleet. Stuart said although the truck is a 2007 model, delivery wasn't received until 2008.

All paid firefighters have been trained for driving the ladder truck, Stuart said, adding only the city's paid firefighters are permitted to drive the fire trucks.

Stuart said the new, larger ladder's wheels are very close to the front and back of the vehicle, meaning the truck swings more widely when maneuvering, and that if it was parked slightly off-center it could have compounded the issue. The short driveway from the building to the street doesn't help, he added.

"It's very vulnerable, there's not a lot of room to spare. For every inch it's off-center you're going to get several more inches of swing," Stuart said. "We're lucky William Street is as wide as it is."

Stuart said there were "three or four" instances when the truck hit the building when the department first took ownership. Firefighters overcame those issues by using visual references in the street and the building when operating the truck and making turns.

He said there were similar instances with the department's old ladder truck as well. While he said it's not the first time fire equipment has been damaged in a similar manner, Tuesday's incident is the worst Stuart can remember.

Firefighters were able to park all but one of the department's vehicles inside the fire station. One vehicle remained outside overnight.

Most of the department's apparatus was already on the street for driver training when the emergency call came in, Stuart said. He said firefighters arrived within a minute at 256 Broad St., where they determined the amount of natural gas was not at a dangerous level.

"We ventilated the home and addressed some fire code violations," Stuart said.

Reporter Neale Gulley contributed to this story.