Video: Calif. ladder truck swerves to avoid vehicle, crashes into building

By Leila Merrill

OAKLAND, Calif. — An Oakland Fire Department ladder truck swerved to avoid hitting an oncoming vehicle and crashed into an apartment building Saturday afternoon, SFGate reported.

Three firefighters were hurt, transported to a hospital and released that night. Some building residents were displaced.

The apparatus was en route to a structure fire, but firefighters later found that it was a “smoke scare,” Michael Hunt, a department spokesperson, said.

“This seemed to be an avoidable incident,” he said. “It cannot be emphasized enough — when drivers encounter emergency vehicles using lights and sirens, they must always move to the right edge of the road and stop until all the emergency vehicles have safely passed.”

The department is working with the Oakland Police Department to investigate the cause of the crash.