Two Separate Crashes Damage New Jersey Fire Trucks

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Two separate crashes involving fire apparatus occurred in New Jersey Monday. In Independence Township, two firefighters were treated for minor injuries and released following an accident that occurred about 9:20 p.m. Monday as they were returning to the firehouse from a drill. The vehicle slid across an icy road and flipped over police told the Lehigh Valley Express-Times.

Chief Dennis Riley told the paper the truck was driven by Tyler Wargo, who was flown to University Hospital in Newark while passenger Matthew Mercurio was sent to Hackettstown Regional Medical Center. The apparatus appears to be totaled, according to Riley. "It's good news everyone walked away from something that could have been potentially bad," Riley told the newspaper. He added, "They weren't driving carelessly."

Earlier that day, an 11-year-old fire truck was hit by a van that sped through a stop sign in Belvidere. The three firefighters on the truck were not injured, according to police officials. The cab of the truck is heavily damaged and the pump is leaking, Good Will Fire Chief Jim Christine told the Express-Times.

The apparatus that was damaged and possibly totaled is the department's main pumper and the safest vehicle in their fleet. That truck can hold 10 men in an enclosed cab while the other two trucks owned by the department each hold five men each in a partially open cab.

Christine told the paper the department is waiting for an insurance company damage assessment. A new truck could cost about $500,000 and Christine said to the paper, "this could be a heavy burden on the town."