Crime & Safety
Caldwell Fire Engine Destroys Utility Pole En Route to Alarm
There was enough damage to 'warrant replacement from a safety perspective,' a PSE&G spokeswoman said.
This article was updated at 3:20 p.m. on Monday.
A Caldwell Fire Department ladder truck responding to Kirkwood Place this weekend was stopped dead in its tracks when it sideswiped and destroyed a telephone pole.
The fire engine was responding to an alarm at a home on Kirkwood Place at 11:06 a.m. on Sunday. As the fire engine was traveling down the narrow one-way road Personette Street and attempting to turn right onto Kirkwood Place, it struck a telephone pole on the corner, said Caldwell Police Det. Brad Palatucci.
"It was a tight turn," said Caldwell Fire Chief Gary Garamella. "Accidents happen."
The utility pole and wires came to rest on top of the fire engine. The engine was trapped and had to wait about four hours until crews from the electrical company PSE&G arrived to safely remove the wires.
The fire truck sustained "minimal damage" from the crash, said Garamella.
The impact from the truck was enough to "warrant replacement from a safety perspective," said Virginia Biggins, spokesperson for the utility company PSE&G.
Residents were not believed to have lost power when the fire engine struck the utility pole, said Biggins. Up to 27 people may have lost power while crews replaced the utility pole later that day, but Biggins was unable to confirm an exact number of outages.
"We apologize to anyone who lost power on a hot day," said Garamella.
The alarm at the Kirkwood Place home proved to be a false alarm caused by the excessive heat, said Palatucci.
On Monday morning, a splintered and broken utility pole could be seen tethered to a new pole on the corner of Personette Street and Kirkwood Road. Wood fragments also littered the street and sidewalk.
Police are also conducting a crash investigation on the accident, said Palatucci.
A Caldwell Fire Department ladder truck responding to Kirkwood Place this weekend was stopped dead in its tracks when it sideswiped and destroyed a telephone pole.
The fire engine was responding to an alarm at a home on Kirkwood Place at 11:06 a.m. on Sunday. As the fire engine was traveling down the narrow one-way road Personette Street and attempting to turn right onto Kirkwood Place, it struck a telephone pole on the corner, said Caldwell Police Det. Brad Palatucci.
"It was a tight turn," said Caldwell Fire Chief Gary Garamella. "Accidents happen."
The utility pole and wires came to rest on top of the fire engine. The engine was trapped and had to wait about four hours until crews from the electrical company PSE&G arrived to safely remove the wires.
The fire truck sustained "minimal damage" from the crash, said Garamella.
The impact from the truck was enough to "warrant replacement from a safety perspective," said Virginia Biggins, spokesperson for the utility company PSE&G.
Residents were not believed to have lost power when the fire engine struck the utility pole, said Biggins. Up to 27 people may have lost power while crews replaced the utility pole later that day, but Biggins was unable to confirm an exact number of outages.
"We apologize to anyone who lost power on a hot day," said Garamella.
The alarm at the Kirkwood Place home proved to be a false alarm caused by the excessive heat, said Palatucci.
On Monday morning, a splintered and broken utility pole could be seen tethered to a new pole on the corner of Personette Street and Kirkwood Road. Wood fragments also littered the street and sidewalk.
Police are also conducting a crash investigation on the accident, said Palatucci.
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