A couple of us are filling our squads with gas at the end of a shift, when a call comes out about an accident and car fire at a major intersection just a few blocks away. My buddy and I decide to head over there to see if we can help.
The road goes down under a railroad bridge, then up steeply to the intersection. Even before I crest the hill, I can see flames. I pull up on scene, and there is a pickup truck smashed into a light pole on the median, on fire from bumper to bumper. The amount of fire is astounding, and dispatch is saying the driver is still inside.
Three of us run up to this inferno with our little fire extinguishers. I'm right at the driver's window, shooting this tiny extinguisher into the passenger compartment and trying to see if there's someone in there. The fire is roaring, I can hear the tires popping, and the heat is unbelievable. I realize that, if there is someone inside that truck, we're too late to do anything.
About that time, the gas tank blows. It's not like in the movies - it's just a muffled boom and more flames. In reviewing the video from my squad later, all three of us simultaneously drop our extinguishers and run like hell. We still laugh about that.
Turned out the driver was actually a block away, giving info to another officer for the accident report. The street light, probably 30 feet in the air, is still scorched to this day.
1 comment:
Yikes! At least nobody died after all.
Post a Comment