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Rawlins Field Office First-year Seasonal Provides Safe Driving Example

By Bruce Collins, BLM Rawlins Field Office

The frayed remains of the Type IV fire engine truck tire (80 psi) show the violence of explosion the engine’s driver and crew experienced.

	Leroy Evans holds the broken fender and mud flap next to the truck's bent mounting steps.
Leroy Evans, BLM’s acting High Desert District fire operations supervisor, explains how shards from the 80 psi tire shattered the engine’s right head lamp.

Want to know the pluses of safe driving? Ask Christopher Steinhoff, Rawlins Field Office (RFO) range aid/tech.(fire) – engines, the advantage of having both eyes on the road, both hands on the wheel, and driving the posted speed when a front tire on a 32-thousand pound type IV fire engine suddenly explodes.

The type IV engine was traveling on Interstate 80 the afternoon of Aug. 1, 2008, about five miles west of Wamsutter, Wyo. when the right front truck tire (80-psi) blew out, sending highly destructive shards of hard rubber flying in all directions. The tire shards took out the right headlight and ripped off a section of the fender with attached mud flap. The weight of the heavy fire engine also dented the tire rim and bent the metal step mounts.

Steinhoff, a first-year seasonal firefighter from Green River, Wyo., did everything right, according to the other members of the engine crew with him. Maintaining control, while gradually slowing and pulling out of traffic, Steinhoff brought the big vehicle safely to a stop.

The cosmetic repairs are expected to take up to a month, according to Rawlins Acting Fire Operations Supervisor Leroy Evans. In the meantime, a safety investigation is looking into replacing the other tires on the fire engine. But, the bottom line, of course is, without safe driving in play, it could have been a lot worse.