Putting out the flames
A Mount Franklin truck in the right place
11-10-2017
It might have been the best example ever of right place, right time.
When Coca‑Cola Amatil driver Craig Hartgrove saw a truck on fire on the Hume Highway near Berrima on Wednesday morning he immediately thought he might be able to help.
Craig pulled up his 45,000 litre Mount Franklin water tanker on the verge. Coca‑Cola has a history of donating water to fire services. Usually though it’s to keep fire-fighters hydrated one bottle at a time, not tens of thousands of litres to help put out a blaze. Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW crews immediately used the water to help control the flames.
The driver involved in the accident, Greg Baker, had a lucky escape. His B-double semi-trailer was carrying a load of frozen chips when it crashed through the safety barriers of the Wingecarribee Bridge.
As half the truck dangled off the bridge driver Greg fought to escape. “The doors wouldn’t open, nothing electrical worked,” Greg told Channel 9 News. “I kept on trying to open the door and barging it with my shoulder.”
“I barged it once more and the door flung open. As I’m getting out the flames are coming up the side of the truck, the flames were everywhere. It’s a miracle I’m not singed,” he said.
To find out more, follow up here.
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