All too sad that we lose a Brother to an accident that did not have to happen. My deepest sympathy to his family and my brother firefighters who mourn their loss.
REMEMBER.......Backing + Spotters = Safety
Yes, thoughts and prayers to the families.. all THREE families.. Chief Gile's, the driver, and the rest of the department.
I have to totally agree with John. Safety first in even the most routine things we do. Never let the guard down. Back up alarms, spotters, and common sense will ensure these types of sad but avoidable accidents don't happen again. Let's learn from this. Even the most routine task can be dangerous if we are complacent.
There has to be to this than what we have read so far. Was the Fire Chief the spotter? Was the common sense rule of not keeping the spotter in direct view using the side rearview mirror followed? How old was the person backing up the rig? It just does not make sense to have anyone ran over. Specially at a fire station. More info will eventually come out so we can all learn from this tragic loss of life. My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved or affected by this.