Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
There’s been another volley fired in the ongoing battle we call Police Fire Wars, this time in Georgia.
The fire chief for the City of Rincon was responding to a vehicle accident involving a gasoline tanker on April 10, 2015 when a Port Wentworth Police officer saw him and gave chase. According to the officer Fire Chief Corey Rahn was not displaying proper emergency lights and was driving recklessly.
The officer claims Chief Rahn’s vehicle had amber and white emergency lights and was weaving in and out of traffic. He also claims the chief refused to pull over for him. Once at the scene the officer confirmed Chief Rahn’s identity and allowed him to handle the incident.
However, following the incident, Chief Rahn received three traffic citations:
- reckless driving,
- failure to exercise due care and
- failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
Rincon City Manager Wesley Corbitt was quoted by SavannahNow.com as saying:
- “What we do know is that a major accident involving a tanker carrying approximately 9,000 gallons of gas was rear-ended by a trash truck at approximately 45 mph. The trucks were fused together and an individual was trapped in the trash truck in critical condition. There was tremendous potential for escalation of damage to person and property. I have no doubt of the importance of his presence at the scene and that his leadership was vital to safely diffuse a potentially explosive and life threatening accident.”
