Columbia fire truck damaged by electrical fire

A Columbia fire truck was damaged by fire Sunday morning during routine maintenance.

Battalion Chief John Metz told ABC 17 News the unit’s 75 foot ladder was up when it hit high-voltage electric lines near the fire station on Oakland Gravel Road in north Columbia.

One firefighter had to jump from the truck, but was not hurt.

Columbia Water and Light had to shut off power to between 500-1,000 customers near fire station No. 4 for about 45 minutes, Metz said.

Oakland Gravel Road between Vandiver and Holly Avenue was closed for about 90 minutes during the incident.

“Our firefighting crews that arrived to support the operation focused on preventing the fire from spreading to the fire station,” he said. “Because the vehicle was still energized, they couldn’t put water on the fire truck.”

The truck was seriously damaged and was towed from the site later Sunday to be inspected. Some of the equipment from on-board was salvageable. The fire station had no damage.