What word begins with F- and ends in -CK?

[LCHIEN]

Firetruck

In Houston yesterday two firetrucks from different stations responding to the same fire alarm collided at an intersection. Turned out to be a false alarm - no fire. An 40,000 lb. HFD Pumper T-boned a 80,000 lb HFD ladder truck.

Totalled -
1 Ladder truck value $1M
1 Pumper Truck value $500,000
1 Infiniti sedan (ladder truck rolled over onto it)
1 Bicycle (Ladder truck fell on it, too)

No one was killed including the car driver and bicyclist but the bicyclist is still in the hospital. 11 people were taken to the hospital. Took out power to 1800 homes as the ladder truck wiped out a power pole, too.

article:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6349761.html

video:

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/07/templates/listpop.html?bcpid=823433113&bctid=18010118001

[bmyers]

Boy, who are you supposed to call when that happens? 911? Who they gonna send? FD is already "on scene"....


Bill

[RAFlorida]

Now that is

"What word begins with F- and ends in -CK?" up

[Shep]

I bet the last thing the biciclist said was "where's the fire"

[LCHIEN]

I don't think the trucks were insured. The TV news said they were totalled and that they had some spares at HFD that they would use to replace them.

[chopnhack]

i guess everything IS bigger in Texas....that is one colossal f*** up. Serious though, don't they look both ways before doing a rolling stop? All EMS I have seen do this.

[LinuxRandal]

I don't think the trucks were insured. The TV news said they were totalled and that they had some spares at HFD that they would use to replace them.

Cities tend to self insure vehicles, via taxes. I learned this when I was 17 and a snow plow, minus blade, rear ended me. The driver admitted fault, and continued to do so when six cops rolled on scene (quickest and most agressive response I have ever seen to a non cop shooting scene). It was interesting that they were trying to pay me for a rental car, yet I couldn't rent one.


Edit: After reading the article, they mentioned the light changing device, and that it was facing only one way. It will be interesting to see if the one truck had a green light, until the other trucks signal, changed the light.

[Ed62]

I was gonna say "Flock", but I guess two is something short of a flock.

Ed

[dbhost]

Well, the sales tax I pay in Houston is going to good use again...

At least they weren't struck by the silly light rail train on main street that doesn't go anywhere...

[Hellrazor]

I bet those 2 stations had a lot of laundry to do with brown stains in it...

[Richard in Smithville]

All joking aside, this just goes to prove that nothing is an excuse for safe driving. These drivers are professional drivers and should know better. Too many times in my town I have watched the fire trucks take corners on three wheels. Sure they want to get to the emergency asap( and I would want them there if it was me) but they have to get there in one piece. Perhaps it was good that this was a false alarm and no one was hurt at both the accident or at a possible emergency.

[Wood_workur]

Emergency vehicles save time from cutting past traffic at intersections, not driving at 60mph all the way there. That's why they should all slow down a bit at the intersection.