Fire Department Tanker Truck Crashes

Updated: Mon 6:28 PM, Dec 24, 2007

A fire water tank crashes on its way to answer a call for help.

A large fire department tanker truck was speeding down a small country road on a fire run when it crashed in rural Mercer County.

It happened in the community of Terrapin, twenty years of experience likely saved the life of the fireman.

There's not much left of Terrapin's tanker, a truck that's hauled many a load of water to fire scenes.

It was fully loaded, and headed to help a nearby volunteer company fight a small fire on Gell Road, but the truck never made it there.

The man who's driven this truck for two decades, felt the road beneath him slip away and the weight of hundreds of gallons of water in the tank shifted, heaving the truck onto its side and top. It's believed the tree that fell during the crash kept the truck from rolling again as the driver managed to right the truck again.

Fortunately the fireman escaped with only a cut on his nose and some rib injuries.

Initial reports call the tanker a total loss, but it's likely the county will order a new one for the Terrapin department.

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