FARMINGTON, Maine — A public works employee escaped a plow truck fire Saturday morning unharmed. The truck wasn’t so lucky.
After plowing roads most of Friday night, James Kiernan was driving east in a 2004 Sterling plow truck with a sander at about 11 a.m. Saturday on Lucy Knowles Road.
As he drove along, he heard a hiss and a loud pop, and the truck was on fire, he said. He jumped out and tried to squelch the fire with the truck’s fire extinguisher as other drivers stopped and called for help.
When Farmington Fire and Rescue arrived, the truck was engulfed in flames, Deputy Chief Clyde Ross said. Firefighters doused the fire with foam.
Kiernan was just finishing his shift, plowing and clearing slush from the road, said Denis Castonguay, Public Works Department director at the scene. Most of the department’s personnel and equipment were out for much of the night cleaning up the Friday storm, which left the area with about 8 inches of heavy, wet snow, he said.
To replace the vehicle with a similar 2004 model would cost about $90,000, Castonguay estimated. A newer-model truck would probably cost twice that, he said. The cause of the fire was unknown. The plow and sander unit were not damaged much, but the cab and engine were destroyed.
The road was closed to traffic for nearly an hour.
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They need to get someone more qualified to buy their equipment. Ninety thousand for a 2004 sounds awful high to me ! AND why are these trucks on the secondary roads plowing TWICE last night ??? Didn’t get enough overtime in this winter ? Certainly not to push the bankings back.
What?
Secondary roads ?… Lucy Knowles Rd. is also known as ME Rt. 156.
I said they were plowing secondary roads twice last night.. I didn’t say anything about that truck being on the Lucy Knowles Road when it caught on fire !!
Are you seriously complaining that they plowed a particular road twice??? They had 8″ of snow in this area. Do you think it would make sense to just wait until the storm was over to plow it once?? I can see you being the first one to complain when they didn’t plow often enough!!
Excuse me, but the road was completely clear of any snow. Do you or your husband work for the highway department ?? Nope, I’m not the first to complain when a road isn’t plowed, but I might be every time my taxes go up again !!
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/2012/02/26/farmington-plow-truck-burns-after-working-friday-n/1160308
THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE PLOWING !!! Does it look like they need to plow twice to you ?? SERIOUSLY ??
I’ve never heard of it. Sounds secondary to me.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=farmington+me&hl=en&ll=44.607457,-70.071316&spn=0.06685,0.10231&sll=41.721042,-72.843475&sspn=0.035043,0.083857&hnear=Farmington,+Franklin,+Maine&t=m&z=13
“Most of the department’s personnel and equipment were out for much of the night cleaning up the Friday storm, which left the area with about 8 inches of heavy, wet snow, he said.”
8 inches isn’t enough to plow twice? Glad you are not the public works director.
8 inches of heavy wet snow can make it very difficult for even the bigger plow trucks to move. I would rather plow my route twice then take a chance of the snow building up and pushing me into oncoming traffic. It does happen. Just my oppinion, doesnt make it right or wrong.
Glad they were out, we were also out in my town. Its nice to know that roads were salted and sanded for the people that did the morning commute.
Have a great day everyone!
So you want the back roads plowed on once than . I was on the web road in Waterville yesterday an it was only plowed once an it was very bad it should of been plowed agen
We are talking Saturday night plowing not friday night. They did not need plowing Saturday night.
can you prove that show us pitchers
http://www.sunjournal.com/files/imagecache/story_large/2012/02/25/FARtruckfireP022612ee.jpg
Here you go… Probably the sparks from the plow scraping the road started the fire !! LOL
Ever heard of salt or sand and salt being put down for ice? I work for a public works dept most of the complaints come from people not thinking or that don’t understand the work being done!
My question is simple. What kind of maintenance wasn’t done that didn’t catch the cause beforehand ? Most engine fire’s are due to a maintenance-related issue (leaking head gasket’s, loose fuel line coupling, excess grease build up ete. ) that are supposed to be seen and dealt with before the engine is even started. That it’s going to cost supposedly $ 90K to replace this is another reason to find out why this truck burned. Replacing this truck, hopefully, is going to be nothing less than an insurance issue. But you can bet the farm that Farmington’s municipal insurance carrier, whoever it is, is going to require Farmington’s Public Works folks to put in place a whole new set of preventive maintenance measure’s to keep this from happening again. And they are going to back it up with a very possible increase in the municipal coverage rate UNLESS Farmington put’s those prevention measure’s in place. Not nice, but given what happend, entirely possible.
And I agree with Kick. Farmington needs to find someone that knows how to buy equipment. $ 90K for a 9 yr old vehicle is ridiculous. Maybe Farmington needs to get on the GSA Vehicle Purchasing Schedule. That or someone there call the State’s National Guard and see what it’s going to cost to get one of the now-going out of srevice M-44 Series truck’s (the old 2.5 ton Deuce and a Half’s) to be transfered to Farmington but with a detour to Limestone to get a snowplow added. There are more than a few private company’s that do this as a matter of routine business. If Farmington has to spend the buck’s to replace the truck, then spend it where the buck is going to stretch and get the most ‘bang for the buck’. Surplus NG equipment has already been paid for. The transfer cost’s and modifications are drop in the bucket compared to a new truck.
I’m guessing that it’s possible something changed during the night of plowing. Jim is a long-time, experienced driver. I’m glad he’s not hurt. It may be a good idea to post Farmington’s snow removal plan so all of us can see it and not guess. Glad you’re safe, Jim.
I like to think I do a very good job of inspecting my truck before I take it out. I check hydraulic lines I can see, some are tucked under and beside parts of the truck I cant get to. I make sure brakes and tries and lights all work, as well as oil and coolant levels, plus various other parts to insure proper sanding and plowing. I can not see wiring under my dash, or certain hoses that I can not get to. So if theres a chafe I cant see and a line blows and oil goes onto a hot engine and ignites that may be something I couldnt have prevented unless I was to dismantle certain truck parts. Unfortunately you do not dismantle a truck before you take it out. I dont know what happened in this case and im sure it wasnt something the driver wanted to have happen but I do know sometimes fires happen in vehicles. Union just lost a fire truck to a fire and needs to replace that entire truck as it was a total loss.
I think theres also alot more to purchasing a plow truck than just the truck its self. We also need to take into consideration the extra hydraulics of the truck, the extra wiring for lights, plow rigging, sanding equipment as well as a dump body for the summer time use. It can be very expensive to put together a plow truck/dump truck.
Good day to ya
I had to travel quite a few backroads from Waldo to Canaan, and I was thrilled at the job these guys did..most of the roads were in a-1 condition, the really pushed that heavy slush out of the street..excellent job, glad the plow guy is ok..just be careful of the mailboxes :)
This is the second one to burn this winter. Winthrop lost a brand new (and smaller) Ford that went up in flames less than a day after they took delivery of the vehicle.
This is why we should be getting our trucks from China too.
ya right:-/
the only “pop” I can think of is the fuel filter, or possibly the intake feed from the turbo.. maybe it was in the end of its service or simply failed from metal fatigue. they are running around a few thousand PSI. maybe the filter had a pinhole leak, and finally failed.. I had this happen to a buddy’s 6.6 duramax. the filter was so old it had a pinhole leak at the bottom.. was very simple to replace, but is located just above the exhaust manifolds.. fuel, and hot exhaust manifolds = fire!! and I imagine the fire destroyed the filter in the fire..
as far as teh cost of a plow truck… brand new they run aroun 90-120k, depending on the model, engine/drivetrain, installed electronics, and plow/sander control systems. just think.. a fully loaded consumer diesel truck with plaow runs over 50k easily..
Hard work, heat build up , metal fatigue , stress, electrical short circuits due to salt brine clinging to the truck, heat causing weakening of fuel and oil lines; all cause problems with equipment. This truck was not meant to plow steady during a big storm such as the one that just occurred. This is a standard medium duty truck adapted to plow snow for the Town. As long as the work load is not overheating this type of truck then it should perform well in most conditions. In extreme conditions where snow is accumulating quickly the load on the engine and drive parts also becomes extreme and overheating can weaken many components which are undetectable by the operator. If any component fails this can and usually is the result. Too bad but it happens. Good thing no one was hurt. Equipment can be replaced. Good drivers for this type of equipment, not so easily.
Rebecca, I couldn’t agree with you more ! Good people are tough to find, more so when you consider thay they bring to the job their training (and training isin’t just book stuff !) and the experience they have gained over a long time. I am glad that the driver is safe. I’ve seen far too many driver’s not come out of this type fire on their own 2 feet. Equipment can be replaced, but driver’s and what they bring to the job are far tougher to find and bring in.
And for those that thought I was taking a ‘shot’ at the driver, shame on you. Doo-doo happens. But we all need to do all we can from letting it happen. But the odd’s do catch up with us all eventually.
“overheating…..undetectable” ?
isnt that what gauges are for?
Radiant heat such as exhaust heat reflecting off the frame and heating the wiring insulation is undetectable. Hydraulic heat build up from sander operations is not usually monitored within the cab and is dependent upon ambient air temp to aid cooling. Previous overheats which weaken lines from within are not visible to the naked eye nor are they even known about in many instances. Electrical short circuits may not trip breakers or blow fuses but instead slowly overheat wiring under the dash to ignition temp (had that happen to me personally). Fuel injection leaks may develop and cause explosive fumes which could ignite within the engine compartment. Only detectable IF the driver can smell the fumes prior to ignition. Like I said before, a good driver is not easy to replace.
This is bec0z of Obama. Won’t have happened under Bush.
I don’t recall this driver having any problems under Bush.
Good ol’ #22.
The Farmington area just can’t catch a break lately….
Just get a glider kit. Probably cost around 30 grand. Easier to buy a glider than the whole truck.
A glider kit is usually a frame front axle cab and engine from the factory. Made for truckers that are upgrading older / burned equipment.
wow two towns had fire destroy there plowtrucks this winter wonder if they were the same kind
See this is what you get for buying cheap stuff it just dose not work you need the right tools to do the right job
opinions are like ______oles every one has one, heres some fact’s for the cry baby’s,
the truck is insured, s0me say 8” wasnt enough to warrent sending the plows out twice. we plowed 3 times, who cares how the fire started sh$% happens all the time, it aint like the driver wanted it,
we have people in my town who cry and wine their taxes are going up whaaaa your damn roads plowed isnt it? you dont think id like to be home at 3 am in bed insted of plowing the roads so some of these dumb a____ can get to their morning cackle fest at mcdonalds.insted of bit__ing how about you just go get in the passengers seat the next time it snows see what its like.or stop being an arm chair plow driver and let us do our job, do we come to your work and tell you how to do your job.in 20 some years i think iv got it figured out thanks your opinion is not needed, this driver did his best and your road got plowed and he may be right back out there tonight cause we have more snow coming.