Lakeside Firefighters Respond to Truck Accident on Wildcat Canyon Road

Wildcat Canyon - On the morning of October 19, 2011, Heartland Fire Communications dispatched Lakeside and Barona firefighters for a reported large delivery truck that had rolled-over on Wildcat Canyon road near Stelzer Park. Lakeside Battalion 1 (Tockstein) was first on-scene assuming "Wildcat IC" and reporting a 2-ton delivery truck that had left the roadway on the west-side of Wildcat Canyon Road and had rolled onto its side. The vehicle sustained major damage and a heavy tow truck was requested. Firefighters arriving on scene encountered the driver who had self-extricated from the wreckage. Lakeside firefighter/paramedics treated the single patient and transported him to Sharp Memorial trauma center in San Diego.

It was subsequently discovered that the truck's fuel tank was leaking diesel fuel. A HazMat response was requested and San Diego County HazMat, San Diego County Roads, and a private cleanup firm eventually responded. It took nearly three-hours to mitigate this incident with the truck finally being pulled-off the embankment by the tow company. Traffic on Wildcat Canyon Road was backed up for miles due to the need for a lane closure.

This incident is a great example of how the fire service uses the Incident Command System to manage numerous numbers and types of resources from several different agencies in order to successfully mitigate a complex incident.

Responding resources included: E1, R3, M1, B1 (Lakeside); E27, B8 (Barona); San Diego County HazMat and Roads; Private tow and cleanup companies; CHP.

Delivery truck sustained major damage.

Lakeside Firefighters Nate Fox and Ian Lowe Work on the damaged truck.

Story and Photos submitted by: Captain Wesley Barnes, Lakeside Fire District.