By Sonia Isaacs and Mitch Gaynor
FIREFIGHTING equipment was sent flying across a Sunshine Coast road in front of startled café patrons after a fire truck’s side panels burst open while racing to an emergency north of Kenilworth.
The incident on September 13 occurred as crews responded to a blaze at Bollier.
Footage obtained by GC&M News shows the truck, under lights and sirens, travelling over a level crossing at speed on the right-hand side of the road at Cooran when the panels suddenly tear open.
A bucket of tyre chocks spills out, landing just metres from shocked onlookers outside a busy café. Other heavy equipment is partially dislodged with the truck continuing for about 20 metres before slowing when the footage ends.
It appears as though side panels on the truck were not properly locked or latched.
A Queensland Fire Department spokesperson said the service was aware of the incident involving a truck “responding to a structure fire at Bollier”.
“The officer in charge on board the fire truck was alerted to the incident immediately and the crew stopped,” the spokesperson said.
“The fire truck was removed from service so safety and mechanical checks could be undertaken.”
While the response to the Bollier blaze was not delayed, firefighters involved have since been given “guidance” and required to undergo extra training.
“Debriefs have been conducted with all relevant QFD personnel and additional training and guidance provided to support ongoing safety improvement,” the QFD spokesperson said.
“The incident was reported to the duty manager operations, who notified all necessary personnel, and it was recorded in QFD’s workplace health and safety system for investigation.”
The truck has since been cleared and returned to service.
Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers, Ann Leahy, did not respond to questions.
