Firefighters charged after fire truck crash

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Wingham, Ont. — Two firefighters are facing charges after a fire truck ended up in a ditch near Kincardine, Ont.

On Oct. 24 of last year, a fire truck ended up on its side in a ditch on Bruce Street in Kincardine. The passenger in the truck was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Following a lengthy investigation, South Bruce OPP have charged two members of the Kincardine Fire Department under the Highway Traffic Act.

The driver, a 54-year-old Kincardine firefighter, has been charged with careless driving, while the passenger, a 33-year-old Kincardine firefighter, has been charged with failing to properly wear a seatbelt.

The Municipality of Kincardine had this to say about the charges.

“We take these charges seriously and are committed to learning from such incidents to improve our workplace health and safety practices”, said Sharon Chambers, Kincardine’s chief administrative officer.

“We remain unwavering in our commitment to the health and safety of all of our employees as well as the public.”

Following the accident, the municipality commissioned an external independent review and is in the process of reviewing the resulting recommendations to ensure continued improvements to the department’s safety outcomes.