Fort Worth police are trying to determine who took off in a fire engine and then crashed it, Fox4News.com reported.

Firefighters, working a medical call at a hotel on the South Freeway Wednesday night, came out of the hotel to find the engine gone, the report said.

They found it about a block away uphill near Interstate 35W and Seminary Drive, according to the report. Tire tracks in the ice showed where the driver lost control and crashed into a pole and a street sign. 

No one was inside the engine by the time firefighters made the discovery. The engine did have some minor damage, the report said.

Special Delivery Alan M. Petrillo

E-ONE has delivered five Cyclone pumpers and two Cyclone 100-foot aerial ladder platforms to the Montgomery (AL) Fire Department, replacing one-third of the department’s apparatus fleet.

Milford Jordan, Montgomery’s chief, says, “We’ve never done a purchase of this size before, so for us it’s unusual and historic. It was all made possible by our mayor, Steven L. Reed, for his strong support and commitment to public safety. The department had gotten behind on replacement of apparatus, and Mayor Reed wanted to get the fleet modernized and allowed us to purchase what we needed.”

Jordan notes that Montgomery had been running straight stick aerial ladders and, prior to placing the order with E-ONE, discussed the differing capabilities of ladders vs. platforms. “We reviewed the pros and cons of each type,” he says, “and decided to go with aerial platforms because of their greater ability in performing rescues and giving crews greater situational awareness. We have a lot of high-rises in town and the downtown is growing with a lot of apartment complexes, so the rescue capability is so much better with a platform.”

Thomas McLendon, president of Sunbelt Fire, which sold the platforms and pumpers to Montgomery, says the E-ONE 100-foot aerial platforms are built on Cyclone chassis and cabs with seating for five firefighters, four of them with H.O. Bostrom self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats. The aerial platforms have wheelbases of 245 inches, overall lengths of 44 feet 2 inches, and overall heights of 11 feet 10 inches and are powered by 550-horsepower (hp) Cummins X15 diesel engines and Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmissions.

He says the rigs have Task Force Tips remote-control monitors at the platforms and carry 188 feet of ground ladders, including two 35-foot two-section extension ladders, two 28-foot two-section extension ladders, one 20-foot roof ladder, two 16-foot roof ladders (one of which is on the aerial), and a 10-foot folding ladder on the aerial.