Manufacturer issues report
By Jessica Van Sack
The Boston Herald
Copyright 2007 Boston Herald Inc.
BOSTON — A baffling Boston Fire Department truck ladder collapse at the scene of a false alarm last week was caused by a series of previous incidents that may have gone undetected, according to a preliminary report by the manufacturer.
On Tuesday, Back Bay’s Ladder 15 crew raced to a suspected fire at 8:30 p.m. on Massachusetts Avenue, but when firefighters hoisted the ladder to the top of the building, it bent, prompting some to speculate that it buckled under its own weight.
However, engineers from Wisconsin-based Pierce Manufacturing Co. Inc., who flew to Boston the day after the incident, found that previous damage to the ladder’s control system caused it to crash onto the top of the six-story building.
Pre-existing damage to the turntable that stores the 100-foot ladder atop the truck and the way the ladder was operated led to the dangerous collapse of the steel structure, two Pierce engineers concluded.
Fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald said all ladders are inspected every day by firefighters. He said department brass may rethink that procedure if it is determined that daily inspections failed to identify the damage.
“We want to read the full report and discuss it with the command staff and see what actions need to be taken,” MacDonald said.
Pierce has discussed its findings with the department and plans to issue a final written report to the department today.
“We are relieved and thankful that no one was injured as a result of this accident,” said Wilson Jones, Pierce vice president of sales and marketing, in a statement. “We take any incidents involving our fire apparatus very seriously, because we understand just how critical it is that they perform at all times, and our response to this incident reflected that.”
Investigators inspected three other Pierce ladders owned by the department and found no damage.