In recent years, there has been an escalation of responding fire apparatus crashing into each other and in the past few weeks it has gotten even worse. In this column, we have always tried to be honest and fair in taking on the hardest issues. This column is no different, as we uncover the little understood and rarely talked about phenomenon of fire apparatus racing each other into an alarm location.

First, the incidents. On April 27, 2004, two pumpers from different departments responding to a working shed fire collided at an intersection controlled by a pre-emption system in Melrose Park, IL. This incident resulted in one line-of-duty death and several serious injuries.

In Waterbury, CT, on May 19, 2007, a responding pumper and ladder collided at an intersection. According to police reports, the officer and the driver of the pumper were not wearing seatbelts and were ejected. The officer succumbed to his injuries several days after the crash. Six other firefighters were injured.

In St. Louis, MO, on Oct. 10, 2008, two quints responding to a fire collided at an intersection. The incident was taped on a security camera. Eight firefighters were hurt.

In New York City on Nov. 22, 2008, a squad and a tower ladder collided while responding to an odor of gas. The squad officer was seriously injured.

In Philadelphia, PA, on March 19, 2009, a tractor-drawn aerial ladder and a squirt collided in the Center City section. Nine firefighters were hurt, including one who was trapped in the apparatus for 15 minutes.

Finally, in Houston, TX, on March 30, 2009, an engine and a ladder responding to what turned out to be a good-intent call for sewage smoke created by the public works department collided at an intersection controlled by a pre-emption system (see article below). The colliding apparatus took down a utility pole and the ladder truck then flipped onto a car and struck a bicycle. The driver of the car was injured and the bicyclist later died of her injuries. One firefighter was badly hurt when he was ejected from one of the apparatus. The pumper struck the ladder truck in the rear. No skid marks were found at the scene. The pumper was about a year old and the ladder was less than six months old. It has been determined by Houston police that the driver of the ladder truck ran the red light and will be cited for "not using due caution." It appears that the pre-emption system was working properly at the time of the incident.