DETROIT – A string of accidents involving fire trucks and EMS rigs in Detroit has disrupted the response to some emergency calls and put lives in danger.
In most of these incidents, the emergency crews were found not at fault.
Data collected by the National Safety Council in 2022 shows emergency vehicles were involved in 214 crashes across the country. That data -- and the string of collisions over the past few months -- has Detroit fire officials asking drivers to take extra precautions.
Most are fender benders, but others can be very serious.
On Sunday, Aug. 4, a squad was responding to a heart attack but they did not make it. Another one was sent in their place after the rig crashed at James Couzens Service Drive and Eight Mile Road. A civilian driver t-boned the fire vehicle.
Detroit Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms said the civilian driver ignored the fire engine’s sirens and lights.
“We’ve trained over 184 members in accident prevention and defensive driving. We’ve added an additional 40 hours on the recruit class for driving, so we’re doing everything we can,” Simms said. “Unfortunately, we’ll have these cases where people don’t abide by the traffic signal or the lights and sirens.”
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