Click here to follow STATter911.com on Facebook (hit “like”)
According to the description with the video above, this happened last Sunday at the 280-S exit near San Jose City College. No further details.
Do you want to sell a rig? Click HERE to find out how with SellFireTrucks.com.
Also on STATter911 …
- Raw video: San Jose, California house fire. – April 15, 2013
- Video: Three alarm fire in San Jose, California. – July 20, 2012
- Helmet-cam: Moss Bluff, LA house fire. – April 23, 2013
- Raw video & dispatch audio: House fire in Utica, New York. – August 6, 2012
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments
Best practice = chock burning vehicle wheels. Simple, cheap, and quick with 4″x4″s.
Two wheelchocks on our rigs; I like grabbing one of them for the vehicle on fire- to prevent this. Learned my lesson once when an unchocked 747 rolled on us during an aid call- the tarmac looked flat, but wasn’t.
If it can roll, chock it- or flatten some tires.
Well they did a good job of dodgeing the rolling van of fire.
WOW… So many things could have made this a major incident. Lucky for that FD… Great Video..
Even managed to use spotters when backing!
Idk how good chocking the wheels would’ve done. From the point where the HEO’s door opened to the van starting to roll was only 30 seconds. Maybe if they woulda ran the chocks up to the van it would’ve helped, but thats pushing it.
I agree Eric. These guys didn’t even get a chance to chock any wheels. Except for the vehicle’s owner, everybody got lucky.
Gotta pull past the vehicle in this case. If a full tank of gas lets go, 3 guesses where its gonna wind up…….
My luck it would have rooled into a fireworks factory.
Sorry can’t spell.
What about crazy chief going head on with freeway traffic!!!
That freeway is very busy… that was unreal!! Like someone will hear your siren doing 80mph…lol
I guess I know why our commanders dont get out of there vehicles he was lucky that it didnt roll into the command vehicle
Standby for revised SOP on auto fires.
I don’t know what some of you are looking at, but in the video I was watching:
1) They hadn’t even got on scene long enough to get out. I don’t see how they would have chocked the wheels short of jumping out and running up the hill to put them under the wheels.
2) I wouldn’t have pulled ahead of it either, given the amount of smoke it was putting out- you would have been right in the middle of the thermal column. Not to mention that they placed their apparatus between the ramp traffic and where they would be working and since if they were on the OTHER side, some dumbass would have tried to drive through the smoke and hit them all…
3)I would have done just like the chief had done- he didn’t go whipping around into head-on traffic, he slowly turned around, it looked as if he was watching the oncoming traffic for a break (it’s not like they couldn’t see the rolling fireball in front of them) and he maneuvered around just fine. If anything, I’m impressed he was still able to function after having the rolling ball of death flying down the ramp at him.
It didn’t go the way I’m sure they wanted it to go but sometimes things go wrong. They did the things necessary to lessen the problem and I’d bet, that given a “normal” situation, they’d have done all those other things. Can nobody post a video without people telling the world what they’d have done better?
I think they did a pretty good job, considering. Dave, thanks for sharing the video. It is full of reasons we should be doing certain things and considering certain contingencies, but you know, I would have done the same thing. Great job, brothers. Stay safe.
Thank you Mick… I was getting pretty irritated and some of these idiotic responses. I was on my way down to the reply and came across yours last. Took the words right out of my mouth.
I’m sure someone will comment on the fuel spilling and being down hill thing. Yes it MAY happen. We can not always do the job 100% safe. There is always risk involved. Imidiate threat was the smoke and heat condition so apparatus positioning was correct. Battalion blocked the ramp. The engine was far enough back for safe initial attack. If the fuel tank ruptured the crew would have noticed and at least been able to redirect it to the side of the road with hose stream. I’ve said my peace, thanks again Mick. ** shaking head at others laughing**
Some days you’re the windshield and some days you’re the bug.
Uphill and upwind aren’t always the same place.
Guess some folks want them to develop an automatic chock-throwing device for the roof of the pumper. 15 seconds or less deployment.
And if the fuel tank had let go as someone was bending down at the rear wheel to place a chock … that would’ve been un-fun.
“Command to dispatch, I need a second alarm for a diaper change!”
That was fing awesome………..
WONDER IF THEY DID A NEAR-MISS REPORT ON THIS INCIDENT?
That was an “Oh Sh-t”, I’m thinking at least one of the crew members said that when it started to roll. I don’t think they had time to chock. But, why did the driver feel the need to back up until he was almost under the overpass in the smoke?! Not enough hose on that Engine?
Mick I think you contradicted yourself there . You gave them kudos for staying out of the “thermal” column( lol) to justify being downhill but after the uh oh moment they positioned directly in the mess under the overpass.
Uphill, upwind . Nuff said. On cases of steep grade, sacrifice the blocking unit, (hope your dept. sends one to the freeway for crew safety) position the blocker safely downstream and unman it as a traffic barrier. I can justify the fireball coming to rest against the engine a lot easier if I put it in my IAP. Plus it keeps the rolling fireball from crashing into unsuspecting motorists.