Loose Hose Causes Serious MVA in Tennessee

[Guest]

Man Hurt In Freak Accident Involving Loose Fire Hose

posted May 28, 2005

A man was seriously hurt in a freak accident in Red Bank on Saturday afternoon involving a loose hose on a fire truck.

Witnesses in the 4600 block of Dayton Boulevard said they heard a clunk coming down the road and ran out to see loose hose trailing Red Bank Engine #1.

They said the hose then wrapped around the axle of a car that was coming in the opposite direction.

As more hose was pulled loose, the hose wrapped around a lamp post and the vehicle was pulled into a telephone pole. It snapped the pole located in front of AmSouth Bank.

It also smashed the vehicle against the pole.

Emergency personnel had to extricate the man through the passenger side.

An officer said the victim, who had blood on his head, asked him, "Man, what just happened?"

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_67572.asp

[BFD1054 1,552]

Wow, you hate to hear news like this, talk about freak accident! But if i remember correctly, a similar accident occured within the last year i believe in the midwest(?) where a young child was killed. I believe the Dept. was responding to a job when a rear line came loose from the hose bed and a coupling struck the child who was on the side of the road. I believe someone had posted an article about that incident on the forums, but it was awhile ago.

Has anyone ever had something similar occur? Or better yet, does anyone have a solution to ensure that this does not occur again?

[hatr1k 6]

On my truck, the end of the five inch hose is connected to a valve that is starped to the back of the truck...Maybe a simple bungee chord is a simple solution.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

There was a similiar incident about a year or so ago. A preconnect slid out and similiarly the hose got wedged under a tire and when it pulled out it whipped causing the nozzle to strike a person in the head killing them. I do not recall whether it was a child or not.

Another safety reminder that you have to check all your mirrors every 3-5 seconds to prevent such events. The smaller attack lines are the ones that can whip around violently. LDH can be drug if it gets caught on the way out, but because of its size and weight generally plays out as if you are laying in. But with those big couplings if it gets caught and releases it can be devastating.