On November 7, at around 10:30 a.m., Seattle firefighters responded to the intersection of N. 85th Street and Wallingford Avenue North for a box truck carrying flooring materials that crashed into a residence, inflicting substantial damage. The passenger of the box truck, who had escaped on his own, informed Engine 16 that the driver of the box truck was still trapped within the vehicle. Engine and ladder companies, as well as Rescue 1, worked concurrently to rescue the driver by cutting the vehicle to free him, and to erect temporary shoring to stabilize the structure. Fortunately, the home’s owners were not present when the incident occurred. Both the truck driver and passenger sustained injuries, but only the driver required hospital transport by ambulance (stable condition).
The Seattle Police Department was dispatched to the scene to investigate the collision’s cause, and the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections was tasked with evaluating the structure further. These are rare yet dangerous occurrences. As a result of their extensive training, responding crews were able to swiftly implement a plan for mitigating the incident.
