By Meredith Somers
The Washington Times
GREENBELT, Md. — The Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad was forced to start borrowing equipment this weekend after the second of its two fire engines was damaged in a crash.
Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department spokesman Mark Brady said the volunteer squad is using a county reserve engine and relying on the protection of neighboring stations while its two engines are fixed.
According to a post on the county department’s blog, Greenbelt’s Engine 835 was parked on the inner loop of the Capital Beltway to help protect rescue personnel responding to a crash at about 2:45 a.m. Saturday. Called “barrier protection,” the engine parked near the site of a crash with its emergency lights on and road flares lit to keep drivers away from the scene.
The crash happened between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Annapolis Road interchange when a 2005 Lexus driving along the inner loop rear-ended the fire engine. No injuries were reported, but the car caused more than $30,000 in damage. Shortly after, another car driving along the inner loop rear-ended the Lexus and barely missed several firefighters standing by the damaged engine.
The second civilian driver fled the scene but was caught by police. Both civilian drivers were put in custody and charged with multiple traffic violations, Mr. Brady said.
Mr. Brady did not know if alcohol was a factor in either collision.
Last week, the other Greenbelt engine was damaged and two firefighters were injured when a car driver failed to give the engine the right of way.
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