GREENWOOD, Ark. (KFSM) — New surveillance video shows a fire engine in Greenwood lose control and nearly flip on its side.
Crews at the Greenwood Fire Department were responding to a gas leak Monday (Jan. 20) when a roll of paper towels tumbled down in front of the brakes and caused the driver to lose control of engine carrying 1,500 gallons of water.
In the video you can see the truck come to a spinning stop nearly twisting onto its side.
Greenwood Fire Chief Stewart Bryan says that specific stretch of road is curvey and doesn't have a shoulder. He believes the front bumper of the unit caught the ditch and that caused it to come to a spinning stop.
There were two firefighters on board, the passenger walked away with minor bruises and the driver was taken to the hospital for a head injury but has since been released.
Chief Bryan says he is thankful the experienced driver was able to ultimately gain control of the engine.
“Everybody seemed to be okay we are very fortunate that nobody was going down the road at that time went it happened it’s a very heavy apparatus and its low center of gravity kept it from flipping thank goodness,” Bryan said.
Chief Bryan says this particular vehicle was only about six months old and costs about $500,000. He says while they are down one unit, they’ll still have adequate coverage of the area.
He says the department is working with its insurance company to determine if the engine is fixable or will need to be completely replaced.
That specific unit was intended to go in the new fire station three which is in the planning stages