ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 24, 1996 TAG: 9608260060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY
When a firetruck catches fire, who puts it out?
The Christiansburg Volunteer Fire Department, that's who.
Around 4:30 Thursday afternoon, a ladder truck owned by KME Fire Apparatus Co. of Roanoke was on Interstate 81 when the truck's crew noticed the truck was on fire, Christiansburg Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jim Epperly said.
The crew came off I-81 at Exit 118, pulled the burning truck into the Waffle House parking lot on Roanoke Road and called for help.
"The truck was a total loss," Epperly said. "It's unusual for a truck to burn like that, unless there was a fuel leak or something, but I really don't know what caused it."
Fire crews blocked the parking lot of the Waffle House until 7:40 p.m. "That gives a clue it was pretty complicated," Epperly said.
The Waffle House was closed for three hours, during one of the restaurant's busiest times. "We lost about $250 to $300," manager Diane Hood said. "And they put some stuff on the parking lot to keep the fire from spreading, but they're supposed to clean that up, so it's not a big deal."
KME officials were not available for comment Friday afternoon.
LENGTH: Short : 30 linesby CNB