Firefighter in POV crashes into responding rig

The fire truck sustained minor damage; the firefighter in her POV was taken to the hospital

February 18, 2015 11:37 AM

York Daily Record

YORK, Pa. — Emergency crews responded to two incidents in eastern York County on Tuesday morning — first, a fire in Hellam Township, and then a crash in Lower Windsor Township, which involved a fire truck responding to the fire.

Firefighters were called to the fire, located at 6125 Mount Pisgah Road, about 9:10 p.m. Once there, they found a fire on the exterior northeast corner of the home, Hellam Township Fire Chief Fred Smeltzer said.

Smeltzer said one of the three residents who were home at the time, called 911.

“It (the fire) was related to the wood stove,” in the house, he said. “However, we haven’t determined the exact cause yet.”

Smeltzer said Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Brad Dunham, a fire marshal, had also responded and was investigating.

One of the residents -- all of whom were in their late teens-early 20s, suffered frostbite and was treated at the scene, Smeltzer said.

The residents fought the fire with “blankets and anything they cold get ahold of. They controlled it until the fire department got here,” he said.

When the fire was extinguished, the home only sustained minor damage, Smeltzer said.

Shortly after Smeltzer and other firefighters arrived at the fire, a crash occurred in the 1200 block of Nursery Road in Lower Windsor Township.

Some of the emergency crews that had planned to respond to the fire, diverted to the crash, which involved a fire truck from the Craley Fire Department in Wrightsville.

“I know you’ve got to get there, but please use caution, OK?” Smeltzer told the units headed to the crash.

Lower Windsor Township Police Chief Tim Caldwell said the crash occurred when a southbound red Dodge Dakota pickup truck lost control and crossed into the opposing lane, where the fire truck, heading north, was.

Caldwell said the driver of the pickup truck, Meranda Poole, was taken to York Hospital. As of Tuesday afternoon, Poole was listed in satisfactory condition at the hospital.

“She is a member of a couple different fire companies in the area,” Caldwell said of Poole. “We’re not sure if she was responding to the fire.”

The fire truck was in fact responding to the fire, Caldwell said. The driver of the fire truck, Dwayne Kline, was not injured, Caldwell said. The pickup truck was severely damaged, while the fire truck sustained minor damage, he said.

Caldwell said he was not sure what caused Poole’s truck to veer into the opposing lane. Police continue to investigate, he said.