Spokane Valley fire engine damaged in crash out of commission, with extensive repairs needed

A Spokane Valley Fire Department truck that was rear-ended on Interstate 90 Saturday as its crew tended to crash victims will likely be out of commission for months, and the repair bill could be hefty.

Just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Ladder 10, an aerial tiller ladder truck stationed at the Greenacres Fire Station, stopped to check on a slide-off crash on eastbound I-90 near the Sullivan exit.

“They pulled over just to assist,” Battalion Chief Matt Jorgensen said.

As usual, the crew parked the engine so that it shielded the accident scene and first responders from traffic approaching from the rear, Jorgensen said. One crew member put out cones and flares behind the engine for 200 feet and was slipping on the ice as he did so, Jorgensen said.

The crew was able to determine that no one was injured in the slide-off crash before a car slid at high speed into the back of the engine.

“The crew looked up and knew she was going to hit it,” he said. “She was sliding. It was too fast and too slick.”

A person in the car that hit the truck was taken to the hospital for serious injuries that weren’t life-threatening. No people were hit or injured by the car.

The damage to Ladder 10 is still being evaluated, and the price to repair the engine isn’t known, Jorgensen said.

“It’s going to be months,” he said. “It’s not going to be cheap. The pictures don’t do it justice. It’s twisted and crooked.”

It was one of two tiller engines the department had in service. The tiller engines are unique in that they have a second driver position in the back, which allows the engine to take tight corners and fit in places an ordinary fire engine can’t go.

The loss of Ladder 10 means the department is down to one tiller engine, which responds out of Station 8 near Pines Road. The department does own a used tiller engine that was purchased to serve as a reserve engine and to use for driver training. That truck has been undergoing repairs, department spokesman Patrick Erickson said.

“That work is being expedited at this point,” Erickson said. “It’s pretty close to being in service.”

Having tiller engines is key because they can fit into apartment complexes with narrow access roads and have a ladder long enough to reach a third-story roof, Jorgensen said. They can also carry plenty of equipment.

“What the tiller gives us is a longer ladder,” he said. “They’re a giant toolbox. The maneuverability is exceptional.”

Drivers are urged to slow down and move over a lane when they see emergency vehicles on the side of the freeway in order to avoid such rear-end crashes, Jorgensen said.