Tender crash fires enquiry
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• An investigation is under way to find the cause of a series of fire engine crashes which have left one fireman dead and 10 seriously injured in the past two years.
Eight Dodge-chassised appliances have skidded out of control, and three of them overturned while answering emergency calls.
The enquiry is being conducted by the Fire Brigades' Union, which maintains that the accidents cannot be blamed on driver error. The Home Officer, however, monitors and approves all fire engines and insists that the Dodges are safe. "Half of London's fire engines are Dodge G13 chassisbased — that's 156 Dodges — and we have received no complaints about them," it says.
It does promise that any enquiry results will be closely scrutinised to ensure that the highest levels of safety are maintained at all times.
The Hertfordshire Fire Authority told Commercial Motor this week that the fireman killed Last October had been travelling on board a Dodge K850 when it crashed.
Renault Truck Industries, says: "Renault Truck technical people review all reports and papers relating to those vehicles manufactured and any report issued by the Fire Brigade or by the Government will be researched in detail."