Two Manchester fire trucks collided
while responding
FirefighterNation Staff
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — A collision between two fire trucks responding to a fire in Manchester, New Hampshire was unavoidable according to a police investigation.
Manchester Ink Link report police say that video of the collision taken from one of the fire trucks finds that the drivers had only one second to react at the time both fire trucks came into view of each other.
Officer Kevin Gelinas said that average perception reaction time is 1.6 seconds and neither driver would have had enough time to make any evasive maneuver.
The crash occurred on February 21 at 12:36 p.m. Both fire trucks left the same station and headed to a porch fire.
Truck 1 followed Engine 11 and then turned onto a different street. Engine 11 headed toward Maple Street as Truck 1 was driving on Maple Street. The two fire trucks collided at the Bridge Street intersection, and Engine 11 hit a pickup truck.
Officer Gelinas says the video shows Engine 11 had a green light when it was struck by Truck 1.
Truck 1’s driver was found to be at fault for the crash.
A total of nine people were injured in the crash, eight firefighters and the driver of the pickup truck.
The city has not yet determined if the fire trucks, valued at $1.74 million, can be repaired.
The porch fire was extinguished by other firefighters.
