CHICAGO — A Chicago fire engine crashed into a church-based food pantry on the city’s South Side on Feb. 14.
The incident occurred at West 103rd Street and South Morgan Street, with initial reports indicating the truck’s brakes failed while responding to an emergency call, CBS Chicago reported.
Surveillance footage shows the driver carefully maneuvering to avoid a pole and traffic light box before colliding with the building.
A witness inside described the chaotic scene.
“We was in the food pantry, preparing food for distribution, and all of a sudden we heard this great big crash, boom, bam,” she said.
Two firefighters were transported to a hospital for evaluation.
Chicago Firefighter’s Union President Pat Cleary said five firefighters were inside the fire truck when the crash happened. He added that many of the city’s fire trucks are very old and pose a danger to firefighters, WGN reported.
“The rig is 20 years old. NFPA 1900 states that after 15 years of service, you should take it out of assigned status. You can put it in spare status for 25 years, so it is a 20-year spare,” Cleary said. “We currently have a 30-year spare, which should be completely out of service.”
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