On Feb. 12, Telkwa Fire Rescue (TFR), Apparatus Truck 21 (T21) was involved in its own incident while responding to a motor vehicle incident (MVI) 10 kilometres east of Telkwa. It slid off the highway onto its passenger side.
There were five TFR crew responders in the vehicle at the time. All five were able to safely exit the vehicle, were assessed by B.C. Ambulance crews and released.
“The incident was one of three MVI which occured on Feb. 12, due to extremely icy road conditions, exacerbated by no evidence of sanding or ice treatment by highway crews prior to, or during, the time frame of 7:00 p.m and 11:00 p.m.,” said Fire Chief Derek Dickson in a report to Village council,
“The other two incidents, one at Highway 16 and Olsen Road and one near Topley resulted in vehicle rollovers and included significant injuries to vehicle occupants.
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Councillor Annette Morgan expressed being “very thankful the crew members were safe and had walked away from the incident.” The rest of council concurred.
Although the vehicle was deemed safe to drive by a certified mechanic, Northline Collision estimated the value of repairs at $16,800, but ICBC only values the truck to be worth $7,000, due to the make, model and year of the 2001 Chevrolet Silverado 2500.
After further review, and determining repairs exceed the value of the truck, ICBC declared the vehicle a total loss.
A temporary replacement vehicle for R21 was secured Feb. 13, insuring TFR remains at one hundred percent response capacity.
Drive BC reported conditions were very slippery at the time of the incident.
deb.meissner@interior-news.com
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