Emergency crews rescued four Lebanon Rural Fire Protection District fire fighters from a crash that happened on the way to a fire. The department that lost an engine, nearly lost its deputy fire chief.

In a severe thunderstorm around 4:55 a.m. on Saturday, members of the Lebanon Fire Department helped rescue four Lebanon Rural Fire Protection fire fighters from their overturned engine. The fire fighters were driving down east Highway 32 on the way to fighting their third fire for the night. Deputy Fire Chief Mike Gardner says, "I remember hearing crunching metal and felt incredible pain."

Monday, Gardner was released from the hospital with a broken clavicle, 2 broken ribs and several stitches. Gardner survived being trapped underneath a more than two and half ton fire engine. Gardner says, "I heard the chief holler and I felt us drop off the side of the road. It was all downhill from there." The exact cause of the crash is under investigation.

The mangled fire engine that normally rushes to emergencies now sits in a tow yard. Lieutenant Tanner Hunt says, “It fought fires and went to vehicle accidents. We used it for extradition." The totaled engine is the vehicle the department wants to arrive first on every emergency. “We made sure our guys were okay. A truck can be replaced." The loss of the rescue pumper will affect fire fighting until it's replaced. Lt. Hunt says, "It will limit some of the places we can go. We're going to have to swap equipment so we can be fully compliant."


Gardner, who has fought fires for 27 years, will be out of work for at least six weeks. Gardner says, "I will still hear my pager but I can't help the community." Gardner and the rest of the rural protection districts are volunteers. Therefore he will also be unable to work his fulltime job with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Gardner says, "I'm just thankful there was help right there."

A highway patrol crash report states the driver of the engine overcorrected twice before the vehicle flipped. Why that happened is still under investigation.