An Owls Head firefighter who was flown by a LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland on Thursday evening following a collision of two firetrucks is back home Friday, the department’s chief said.
Russell Hallock, 56, of Owls Head, was taken initially to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport and then flown to the trauma center in Portland with what were called serious injuries.
Owls Head Fire Chief Frank Ross said Hallock was released early Friday.
The drivers of the two firetrucks – Donald Pierce, 64, of Owls Head; and Keith Miller, 65, of St. George, were taken to Pen Bay with minor injuries and released.
The fire chief said that the department’s mini-pumper truck is considered a total loss. He said he is waiting for the insurance company to inform him on how much will be paid to the town.
The cost of replacing the truck is estimated at $500,000, he said. The truck was a 1990 model but only had 9,000 miles on it. He said many of those miles came from the trip up from Pennsylvania where the town acquired it.
A second Owls Head firetruck is down with a transmission problem, he said.
The preliminary investigation by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office found that the St. George truck was traveling north on Clark Island Road in St. George with emergency equipment activated, heading to a water supply station. The Owls Head truck was heading south, also with emergency equipment activated, returning to the fire scene with water.
The firetrucks came upon each other in the area of the Mill Creek Road intersection. A car had pulled over to the side of the road as much as possible but the narrow road has no shoulder so the vehicle was in the northbound lane.
The trucks tried to avoid each other but the St. George truck’s brakes locked and the rear driver’s side corner of the truck struck the front driver’s side corner of the Owls Head truck. The St. George truck went off the road and partially into ditch while the Owls Head truck went off the road and rolled onto its passenger side.
A Maine State Police accident reconstruction expert’s report is expected to be completed in a couple weeks.
Both trucks were significantly damaged and were towed.
Fire departments from multiple towns including St. George, Thomaston, South Thomaston, Cushing, Rockland, Camden, Union, Owls Head, Appleton and Warren responded to the fire at a home on Tyler Lane on Clark Island. The sheriff’s office was also at the scene.
The crash occurred shortly after 1 p.m. The fire had been reported shortly after noon.
A six-car garage at the home near the end of the road – owned by Bernard Davis Jr. – was flattened and the home was destroyed with only exterior walls still standing. The house is located across from the Craignair Inn and Restaurant. Davis and his dog were home at the time but were able to get out without injury.
The town has the home assessed at $485,000.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office was called in to assist in determining the cause.
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