Dallas firefighter injured, fire trucks damaged while responding to accidents during winter storm
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – As if firefighters needed any reminders, putting out flames isn't the only part of their job that's dangerous.
So is responding to accidents on North Texas highways and streets.
In Fort Worth Friday morning, a vehicle slammed into the back of a reserve fire truck as firefighters responded to a crash.
While firefighters weren't hurt, the truck sustained significant damage.
"One of the scariest things to me about our job is actually being on the highways and with the winter storms we've had here recently, it just amplifies that. I would say it's actually more dangerous than fighting a fire just for the fact of we're on the roads a lot more than we are in these homes that are on fire these days."
In Dallas this week, a similar story.
Dallas Fire Resuce spokesman Jason Evans said three trucks, including Truck 39, which is just six months old, had to be pulled from service after being damaged as firefighters were responding to accidents on icy roads.
A firefighter on Truck 39 was hurt overnight and had to be taken to an area hospital, but has since gone home.
One of the other trucks is a rental.
Trojacek has a message for drivers, especially during bad weather. "Slow down, give us room to do what we need to do to take care of your families and that way, we can go back home at the end of the shift and make sure we're taking care of ours."
Firefighter calls in Dallas spiked this week.
City records show between 7 a.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday, firefighters responded to more than 800 incidents.
The average call volume is just over 100.
Both cities are still assessing the damages to their fire trucks, but there is another cost you may want to consider.
Trojacek said, "When one of those trucks is taken out of service due to damage or anything else, it can really hamper fire departments across the country."
He said because of supply chain issues, it has taken a lot of time to order new trucks and repair existing ones across the country.
