The engine was discovered overturned on it's roof at about 0430 or so this
morning. It belongs to Casa Loma Volunteer Fire Department engine found in a creek near Casa Loma Road.
CDF, San Jose Fire and Casa Loma Responded.
No injuries
Driver was not at scene
Investigation is underway.
Fire truck from Casa Loma Volunteer Fire Association found in creek.
By James Hohmann
Mercury News
Article Launched: 03/24/2007 11:09:17 AM PDT
A fire truck used by the Casa Loma Volunteer Fire Association in unincorporated Santa Clara County went off the road and into Llagas Creek early Saturday morning, and now investigators are asking questions about how the engine got out of the station without being dispatched.
The report of an overturned fire engine was received at 5:44 a.m. and no one was at the scene when rescuers arrived at the accident site on Casa Loma Road and found the engine in the water.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Captain Jim Crawford said the engine had not been dispatched and that he didn't learn it had left the station until after it was discovered in the creek.
Casa Loma Volunteer Fire Association Chief Kylee Vicha said she could not say when the fire truck was last seen at the station because of the ongoing investigation but acknowledged that it could have been stolen.
"I'm waiting for the powers that be that do their investigation to come up with a plan," she said, speaking by phone from the accident site. "They're investigating. It's a possibility."
The CDF, along with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office, the California Highway Patrol, the San Jose Fire Department and the Uvas Fire Department, were at the accident scene Saturday.
Vicha said the volunteers have had the truck for about five years. The engine is one of four the association has.
The association provides fire protection for about 175 residents in a 5,500 acre area and assists in nearby Loma Prieta.
"Our volunteers can respond in a matter of minutes," the association's Web site says, "where professional emergency agencies make take one or more hours to respond.
