7/31/09 - A fire engine from the Clendenin Fire Department is expected to be a total loss, but those who were on board suffered remarkably few injuries in the accident. The truck was responded to a fire Thursday night in the Frame community of Kanawha County on Big Fork Road. Captain Chris Avis says the truck had slowed on the narrow road, trying to get by when the shoulder gave way.
"Due to the rain and the narrow road, the edge of the road was real loose and as the fire truck drove through the bank gave way," Avis tells 58-WCHS. "The fire truck rolled over the hill."
Avis says the truck rolled one and a half times more than 100 feet down the steep embankment. Four firemen were in the truck and all were wearing seatbelts.
"We were very thankful. We weren't sure what to expect when we were enroute with the rescue crew,” said Avis. "To find that our members were still alive and fairly well was certainly a gift to us."
Three of the firemen suffered only minor cuts and bruising. The fourth firefighter suffered a broken shoulder. All four were treated and released from the Charleston Area Medical Center overnight.
Two tow trucks spent all night attempting to pull the fire truck back to the roadway.
"They had two heavy wreckers that came and hooked onto it. The truck is so big and so heavy to handle they were actually snapping cables," Avis said. "They did manage to get it back up over the hill finally."
An insurance adjustor will visit the fire hall to make a damage assessment. Avis speculates the truck is totaled.