WSP investigates fire training exercise jet fuel mix-up
Dec 16, 2013, 7:37 AM | Updated: 10:13 am
The Washington State Patrol is investigating what could have been a fatal mix-up.
It happened back on Oct. 25 during a fire training exercise in North Bend, when crews pumped jet fuel instead of water onto a flaming mock up of an airplane crash.
“The firefighters put water on the fire that had been deliberately developed for training. The fire got bigger instead of getting smaller,” says WSP spokesman Bob Calkins.
Caulkins tells KING 5 the crew’s oil/water separator, which recycles the water used for fire training exercises, wasn’t working properly.
They’re investigating whether it was a malfunction or human error.
Two firefighters suffered minor burns.
