No one was injured after two wheels came off an apparatus as it was returning from a call in Rhode island on Thursday.
Providence firefighters were heading back to the station in Ladder 2 when it began experiencing problems, WJAR-TV reports.That's when two of the wheels of the 2007 vehicle popped off while it was still moving.
"It didn't hit anybody or any vehicles," George Lazzareschi, the superintendent of the city's Public Safety Repair Department, told WJAR.
It's not clear what caused the wheels to come off the apparatus, which was fully inspected in November. Lazzareschi said he suspects the stress from speed bumps or potholes could have been to blame, adding that the lug nuts and rims didn't apear damaged.
Officials told WJAR that the apparatus will be fully evaluated again before it returns to service.
"We make sure nothing goes out unsafe and I'm sure most of the firefighters would attest to that, that our trucks never really have any other problems
But Derek Silva, the president of Providence's firefighters union, says this incident shows the concern the union has about the condition of the department's vehilces and other equipment.
"Those four firefighters are driving down the road going back from an emergency thinking nothing of it and to have the truck just drop and lose control of it and have two tires come off is frightening," he told WJAR.
