NEWS: Returning fire engine crashes

Saturday, June 30, 2007

NEWS: Returning fire engine crashes

Recordnet.com: Returning fire engine crashes:

Angora Fire strike team - Stockton fire

Returning fire engine crashes

By The Record

June 30, 2007 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - A team of four Stockton firefighters returning from the wildfire at Lake Tahoe crashed on Highway 50 when the brakes on their fire engine failed, officials said Friday. The captain, engineer and two firefighters were not injured.

Stockton fire Capt. Michael Lilienthal said the group owed their lives to engineer Don Marlow, who was driving when the crash took place about 6:45 p.m. Thursday.

"This easily could have been fatal for our firefighters," Lilienthal said. "You're talking a 35,000- or 40,000-pound engine."

The fire engine was traveling about 50 mph on windy roads outside Strawberry when Marlow discovered the brakes did not work, Lilienthal said. Marlow purposely crashed the engine into a mountain to stop its momentum.

An NBC news van was clipped by the engine, and a woman inside suffered minor injuries, Lilienthal said.

The engine that crashed belongs to the state and was on loan to Stockton for major disasters. In exchange, Stockton firefighters respond to fires like the Angora Fire, which continued burning Friday.

Marlow, Capt. Brian Jones and firefighters Steven Thienes and Ryan Peters had worked the fire since Monday, Lilienthal said.

Three other Stockton firefighters responded to the Angora Fire to lead strike teams, he said.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Saturday, June 30, 2007