News of the Nature Coast of Florida

A Citrus County fire truck that tipped over on Feb. 5 on County Road 491 in rainy weather was on a training mission.

County Commission Chairman Gary Bartell, who was quoted in a local newspaper, said on Feb. 9 that his remarks were put in the wrong context.

"I was briefed about it at about 8 o'clock in the morning. I had a totally different perspective of what happened," Bartell said. "I found out late in the afternoon of the training issue. That was not brought up during the initial (briefing)." Bartell said he didn't have a problem with the use of county vehicles for training, but did have a problem with the use of those vehicles for trips to restaurants and other places not related to training.

"The question is if they are performing an emergency, or if they are in the training process or if they are going to and from a training that's one thing. If they're not, those vehicles do not belong out on the road, because they're expensive and are a very expensive mode of transportation, if you will, to go to the grocery store or to the restaurants and what have you."

There were two volunteer firefighters from the Beverly Hills fire station aboard the truck at the time of the accident. Neither was injured.

The two firefighters were en route from the Beverly Hills fire station to the Lecanto Government Building to drop off paperwork. With the heavy rains falling, the driver began to feel some play in the steering wheel, as if the truck was beginning to hydroplane. At that time, the rear of the truck started to slide off the roadway. The driver attempted to correct, but the truck ended up tipping over onto its side.

There were no injuries, but the two firefighters were examined before being released. Citrus County Sheriff's Office representative Gail Tierney said that speed was not a factor, but added that the investigation was continuing.

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