Random Acts of Living


Monday, May 25, 2009

Exciting Night

When you live in a quiet, small town, hearing a siren is enough reason to look outside to see what it is and where it's headed. But when you hear several sirens and see their red lights flashing in your windows and they don't seem to be going far, well you might get a bit excited. I stepped outside and looked down the street to where all the commotion seemed to be centering and then I saw flames. So I ran back into the house and grabbed my camera and asked the grandson if he'd like to go check this out with me.
We walked the couple blocks to the park and there was a truck on fire IN the park.
I asked someone else that was watching what had happened and they said that the police had been chasing the vehicle up from a town south of us when it drove through the park and hit a pole.
The driver had baled and now was on the loose.
At this point I returned home to let my husband know what was going on and I called my son. I took my grandson and a couple flashlights and we went out and checked my yard and outbuildings since the driver had run in our direction. When my son and K-Monster came over we walked back to the park.
The fire was out and now the concern was the electric pole with the live wire attached to it.

We have a wonderful group of volunteer firefighters that I've seen in action many times over the years. They're a well trained group of dedicated people.
We had a variety of law enforcement also, representing two counties.
With the fire out it was time to document the scene.

Next the power company arrives with their bucket.
They get it positioned right were they want it and secure the legs to keep it from tipping.
Up in the bucket the lineman looks it over first...
...then he attaches a couple of ropes to the pole.
Back on the ground, out of the bucket, the extended is secured to the pole...
...the ropes are secured on either side of the pole.
Now that the power line is secured the fireman come back over to check it all out.
Next the tow truck comes in.
The bed is lower behind the burnt out truck.
Chains are attached to the frame.
And the wench starts pulling it up on the trailer with ease.
The lineman are looking over the broken pole.
The truck is hauled away.
And the busted pole and burn spots on the ground are all that are left of all the excitement.
I had a feeling that I needed to be over there tonight if I wanted pictures. The runaway driver probably took off across a wheat field. I wonder if he was carrying a cell phone?

5 comments:

Peter said...

Hi! By the looks of things you would make a very good CSI operator or a crime reporter.

The only good thing to come out of all of this, is that no body bags had to be used.

Take Care,
Peter

KansasA said...

OMG! What a load of excitement for you! Great pictures!

Moonshadow said...

Peter & Kansas - It was quite exciting for a while. What's funny is that this little town isn't that big but I'd bet most people in town don't have a clue what went on overnight. My daughter, who lives in town, called me this morning and I told her about it, she was surprised.

Wendy said...

Wow, what a bunch of excitement! My husband is on a volunteer fire department. Generally an awesome group of people those kinda guys.

Hey, since you live in a small town you should check out my Small Town Snapshot Sunday. You might like participating in it!

Moonshadow said...

Wendy, Thanks for dropping by. We have a dedicated volunteer fire department. A lot of them started when they were in high school.

I'll check out your STSS. Most all the pictures I post would qualify. How do you do the Mr. Linky thing?