Kentucky firefighter hospitalized, fire truck destroyed after crash

GALLATIN COUNTY, Ky. (WKRC) – A Glencoe volunteer firefighter is recovering after he was seriously injured on route to a call on Saturday.

Firefighters were headed to a reported car fire when they encountered another car on a one-lane road too narrow for both vehicles. The narrow road forced the fire truck off the edge of the road, where it hit a culvert.

“When he did, he lost control of the truck and it overturned several times into a field. He’s in serious condition and he’s had multiple surgeries to repair fractures in his back,” said Glencoe VFD Chief, Bud Webster.

Webster said the injured firefighter is out of surgery and is awake, talking and in good spirits. He said the truck is a complete loss.

“It does put us down a little bit, that truck was a significant firefighting piece for us, for our county, we used it primarily for rural firefighting activities,” said Chief Webster.

Webster guessed the price tag for a replacement will be around a half-million dollars. The department has other trucks they will rely on more in the meantime, and other neighboring counties are assisting when needed.

The lack of fire hydrants in the area means their trucks are a little different than others.

“All of our trucks haul more water than the average fire truck, we need every piece of water we can get,” said Webster. “With us being down 1500 gallons of water on that truck, we’ll probably likely increase mutual aid for other takers to that area.”

The loss is hitting the 16-man department a little harder than other, bigger departments.

“Any loss to equipment is something that we have to get replaced soon, because if not, it’s going to affect people’s homes, their properties and it could affect a life,” said Webster.

Webster said hopefully, they will soon begin the process of replacing that truck after talking with the insurance company. It could take up to two years to get a truck built and outfitted with the proper equipment.