Bridge Weight Limits Stop Fire Department
Firefighters in Nebraska encountered a bridge that was unsafe to cross with their apparatus enroute to a structure fire (from Firehouse.com).
The Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department was called to the fire around 9:15 a.m. But firefighters couldn't cross the wood plank bridge over a frosty stretch of Papillion Creek because of a weight restriction.
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The department's firetrucks weigh 23 tons or more, he said. The bridge, near Fairview Road just east of the Kennedy Freeway, has a posted weight restriction of 1 ton.
Safety questions:
Does your department check bridge weight limits in your jurisdiction?
If your department was in the situation described in the article would your trucks have been driven across the bridge?
This wouldn't have been an easy decision, but I think the Bellevue VFD firefighters made the right call.
Comments
We have a bridge that a homeowner put in over a creek on their driveway. The home owner claims it will hold the weight of the engines but we will only take the brush truck over it. The ambulance will cross it but at a crawl. Until we receive an engineering report, we will not take anything else over it. Plus it will be a tight fit for our engine tanker to cross it, the quint and the squad will not fit on it.
Posted by: Mia at December 8, 2006 02:05 PM
Thanks for the comment, Mia!
Sounds like your department is doing the right thing regarding the homeowner's bridge.
We have a bunch of rural bridges that probably do not have their weight limits posted. At this point it hasn't been a problem, but it will be in the future. There is no way the county has the funds to replace or repair all of the bridges.
Stay Safe!
Joe
Posted by: Joe at December 8, 2006 02:45 PM
