Fire chief rescued after 4x4 gets stuck in floods (From York Press)
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Fire chief rescued after 4x4 gets stuck in floods
9:17am Saturday 8th December 2012 in News
North Yorkshire chief fire officer Nigel Hutchinson
NORTH Yorkshire’s fire chief had to be rescued after his car broke-down when he drove it into flood-water.
Motorists have been urged by the fire brigade in recent weeks to avoid driving into standing water, but chief fire officer Nigel Hutchinson did so on his way to a meeting and became stuck.
Mr Hutchinson was in a BMW X5 – a 4X4 vehicle leased from North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service – when he came a cropper.
Dave McCabe, the brigade’s head of policy and protection, said Mr Hutchinson was driving between Easingwold and Boroughbridge last Thursday when he came across some standing water.
“The water was quite shallow – I think it was only a few inches deep – and other vehicles which weren’t 4X4s were getting through OK and so he drove through,” he said.
“I think it was a reasonable assessment to make, but unfortunately, his vehicle broke down. I think it was a mechanical defect which may have been exacerbated by floodwater. He got on his fire boots and walked to the side of the road, and I understand he called a colleague, who came to pick him up and take him to the meeting.”
He said a garage recovery firm was called in to take the vehicle away, so there was no need for firefighters to assist. He did not know what repairs were needed to the car.
Mr McCabe said the service’s warnings to motorists primarily related to driving through fast-flowing water, such as fords, where there was considerable risk to drivers, but in this case the water had been still standing.
A Fire & Rescue Service spokesman said in September: “There are high levels of standing water on the roads, therefore motorists should avoid driving through any floodwater and only make journeys if absolutely necessary until the weather conditions improve.”
On November 5, the service said it had attended several incidents recently where motorists and their vehicles had become trapped in flood water, and issued tips including: “Make sure you can see the way out before you enter water, and if it is too deep, or too fast moving, don’t risk it. If you can’t tell how deep the water is, back up and find an alternative route.” Similar warnings were issued three days before Mr Hutchinson became stuck.
Asked if Mr Hutchinson was embarrassed by what had happened, Mr McCabe said: “I don’t know how he feels but if it happened to me, I would feel the irony of it.” When told about the incident by The Press, Steve Howley, of the FBU, said: “It’s quite ironic really but does highlight the potential problems of driving through floodwater and anybody, even the chief fire officer, can encounter problems. I’m sure he finds it slightly embarrassing however there was no real harm done, and it is quite amusing.”
Comments(15)
sterlingman
says...
10:50am Sat 8 Dec 12
bob the builder
says...
11:12am Sat 8 Dec 12
CHISSY1
says...
11:19am Sat 8 Dec 12
Stevie D
says...
12:55pm Sat 8 Dec 12
I think it was a mechanical defectYes, the defect was that it was a BMW X5, which is just a car with big wheels, and is not a proper off-roader.
Piffadilly-Circus
says...
6:45pm Sat 8 Dec 12
Wonder if the knock sensor got soaked and sent the ecu into shut down without the knock sensor the engine doesnt know when its recieving its spark. the fact that other normal cars got through ok only takes me to the conclusion that he hammerd the X5 through like he had some form of authority to do so.
X5 i believe have atleast 10 inch gap from sump thats bottom of engine(oil pan) to ground. he must of hit the flood at trumendous speeds to cover the bottom half of the block in water. .Most likely would have been perfectly ok had he have been going very slowly, persistantly keeping on very little throttle
most definatly a human error nothing to do with the machine supplied.
thanks, goodbye
redoner
says...
7:39pm Sat 8 Dec 12
DYLANESQ
says...
8:32pm Sat 8 Dec 12
DYLANESQ
says...
8:39pm Sat 8 Dec 12
Pete the Brickie
says...
8:43pm Sat 8 Dec 12
molly1928
says...
11:54pm Sat 8 Dec 12
lowbeam
says...
1:02am Sun 9 Dec 12
riverdweller444
says...
7:53am Sun 9 Dec 12
piaggio1
says...
10:30pm Sun 9 Dec 12
er since when did they become a leasing company??
and now new range rovers??
you are becoming a joke to US taxpayers
riverdweller444
says...
5:15pm Mon 10 Dec 12
Buzz Light-year says...
10:35am Sat 8 Dec 12
If I was driving a 4x4 and saw non-4x4s going through I'd reckon my chances were good.