A firefighter in Northeastern Ohio drove a fire truck through the storage facility on the way to fight a fire on Friday. The building was severely damaged.
Three firefighters were heading out to respond to a minor grass fire in Bazetta Township, when the accident occurred.
They crashed into a middle support column of the building, and debris just came tumbling down.
Fire Chief Dennis Lewis said a firefighter attempted to close a cabinet door on the truck after taking firefighting clothing from the cabinet, but the door did not latch.
The door popped back open just as they started to take the truck out of the McCleary-Jacoby Road fire station, according to the WKBN News. That’s when the first responders hit some concrete blocks and wood paneling.
Lewis said the men were in a hurry and called the accident “a mistake.”
National Fire and Water Repair secured the front of the fire building, but fire trucks cannot be stored there until the building is repaired.
A firefighter ended up responding –to that original call to a grass fire –in a shift supervisor car. But by the time he arrived, the fire had already been extinguished.
Lewis said the cost of damages has not yet been determined. The firefighter involved in the incident will not be formally disciplined, according to fire officials.
