By Susan Weich
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri) 
Copyright 2006 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Accidents happen, but some are more expensive than others.

Central County Fire and Rescue's ladder truck may have $100,000 in damages and be out of commission for six months after the brakes on a Hazelwood ladder truck apparently failed and struck it. Both vehicles had been called to help fight a two-alarm fire in the 3400 block of Cottonwood Drive in St. Charles on June 29.

"The impact was not that great," said Hazelwood Fire Chief Jim Matthies, who estimated that the truck was going 10 mph when it crashed. "It's just when you've got 60,000 pounds hitting 60,000 pounds, it's going to do quite a bit of damage."

Hazelwood's truck ran with lights and sirens flashing to the subdivision on the north end of St. Charles and then negotiated numerous intersections and hills to get to the fire.

"We believe that the brakes just got really hot from being used and crystallized, which means they didn't grab like they should," Matthies said.

When the Hazelwood firefighter realized he was headed for Central County's parked truck, he literally stood on the brakes to push them down, Matthies said.

Hazelwood's front bumper crunched Central County's back bumper and crushed a 6-inch pipe that acts as an intake for water and runs all the way up to the pump.

That, says Central County Fire Chief Russ Mason, is why the damage is going to be so expensive. The truck was towed to the manufacturer, Pierce, in Appleton, Wis., on Monday, and Mason is waiting to hear what the total cost of repairs will be. Hazelwood will be responsible for the repairs, Mason said.

Hazelwood's truck has about $25,000 in damage. It was purchased in 2004 for $496,000, Matthies said.

No one was injured in the accident, and the crash did not hinder firefighters' ability to put out the blaze. Matthies added that his truck was inspected after the crash, and the brakes were a little out of alignment but not enough to have caused the accident.

Meanwhile, Central County will probably be down to one ladder truck until next year, when they'll get back their damaged truck, bought in 1999 for about $630,000.

Central Country generally services St. Peters and surrounding unincorporated areas.