Brownsburg fire ladder truck rolled in single-vehicle crash; department to review training and response policy

A Brownsburg fire department ladder truck rolled over in a single-vehicle accident while responding to a medical call, and the department said it will review driver training and response policies following an internal investigation.

Fire Department leaders said the truck was involved in a single-vehicle rollover; no other vehicles were involved and the department is awaiting an inspection by the manufacturer/dealer at a specialized facility in St. John, Indiana, to determine whether the truck will be repaired or totaled. "They want the dealer involved or the manufacturer involved, which is what I want as well," the Fire Chief said.

The rollover occurred on a wet road while the truck was responding to a non-advanced-life-support call. The chief said the department dispatches the closest qualified apparatus and that the ladder truck functions as a rolling toolbox with essential equipment for fire calls. "The ladder truck is basically a big rolling toolbox, it has all the equipment they need on there for them to use on a fire," the chief said, describing why the truck is sometimes dispatched to medical calls when manpower or equipment is needed.

Resident Jim Murphy, who raised the crash for the record, suggested exploring use of a smaller response vehicle such as an SUV for some medical runs so a heavy truck would not be operating at high speeds on county roads. "I would like to suggest at this point in time that the executive board along with the fire department look into the possibility of having another vehicle available for medical runs, such as the SUV that you're gonna transfer," Murphy said.

The chief said the department already has discussion points about alternative approaches but noted trade-offs: removing the ladder from certain calls can leave crews without needed tools if a fire call follows, and the department lacks the staffing to place a separate squad into service. He said driver training will be reviewed and that lessons learned from the investigation will inform changes. "Part of our accident investigation is, and I have instructed staff is, I wanna see lessons learned. Can we improve our training program for our drivers?" he said.

The department said the investigation is complete and that it will move forward with recommended changes where pertinent; the chief said he does not expect the engineer involved to be terminated and emphasized training improvements.

Ending: The department is awaiting the dealer's inspection and said it will implement training or procedural changes recommended by the internal review. No formal policy change or disciplinary action was adopted at the meeting.