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L.A. fire truck gets stuck in sinkhole
Crew escapes after engine’s cab plunges into hole when water line bursts
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Calif. fire truck sinks in flood Sept. 8: Two water main breaks in the Los Angeles area swallowing a fire truck in the San Fernando Valley when floods caused the street to collapse beneath it. NBC's Brian Williams reports. Nightly News |
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 Moms brigade moves mountains in Appalachia Nov. 25: Making a Difference: One mother's efforts to reach out to another has blossomed into a mission that's raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help dozens of impoverished families in Kentucky. NBC's Amy Robach reports. |
LOS ANGELES - Two firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk into a large hole caused by a burst water main in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said.
The captain and engineer were responding to an emergency call around 5:20 a.m. when they saw running water on a residential street in the Valley Village neighborhood, fire department spokesman Rich Matheney said.
Worried the ground was unstable, the men were backing the 22-ton engine out when its front end fell into the sinkhole, Matheney said.
The two safely climbed out the windows as water and mud began to fill the vehicle's interior, Matheney said.
Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Kim Hughes said the firefighters were responding to a 6-inch cast iron pipe break on the street. She said water in the area was turned off while tow trucks prepared to pull the engine out of the hole.
Hughes said she didn't know whether the burst water main was related to another one that broke about two miles away over the weekend. The rupture in Studio City on Saturday swept cars down streets, forced people out of their homes and flooded a section of a major boulevard.
The broken main was part of the city's original water system, dating to 1914, and was slated for repair.
Hughes said the main should be in operation Tuesday morning. However, street repairs forced the shutdown of a major road across the Hollywood Hills.
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