Kern County fire engine No. 21 burned up in the Soberanes Fire in Northern California recently, according to Fire Chief Brian Marshall. “It’s unfortunate, but it does happen,” he said of the incident, which occurred July 30 about 3:45 p.m. “The good thing is no one was hurt.”
The cause isn’t fully known, but apparently the rig was parked on a knoll that had been burned over a few hours earlier and something still smoldering beneath the dirt may have caught the rear tires on fire.
The crew did spray the area down with water before leaving, according to the department.
“At the time, our firefighters were 500 yards away fighting the fire,” Marshall said.
The engine fire was spotted by an airplane and other engines parked nearby were used to put it out.
Engine 21’s rear tires were burned away and its back half was severely damaged.
The tires of another nearby truck from a different county were also damaged.
Marshall said Engine 21, which was from the Taft fire station, was returned on Friday.
Damage is still being assessed to see if it’s a total loss.
Engine 21 cost about $415,000, which doesn’t include all the equipment such as hoses, jaws of life, etc. That adds another $150,000 to the cost.
Marshall was confident Kern County would be reimbursed for the loss.
He wasn’t sure where the money would come from because large fires like this have multiple agencies involved.
For instance, this engine was requested by the California Office of Emergency Services.
The Soberanes Fire has also already received a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA.