A Ford pickup crashed into Columbus Fire Station 5 just before 2 a.m. today, causing extensive damage to the fire station but no injuries to either the driver or firefighters, Columbus Fire and Rescue Chief Martin Andrews said this morning.
Andrews said the three firefighters at the station, which is located on North Lehmberg Road, were awakened when a vehicle with one occupant crashed into the front of the station.
The firefighters were evacuated and transferred to Fire Station No. 4 as a precaution, Andrews said.
“The damage appears to be pretty bad,” Andrews said. “I think the engine bay area may be in danger of collapse. Kevin Stafford, our city engineer, is out here (today) and we’ll get his input, but we probably won’t know how bad the damage is until we get a structural engineer to look at it.”
Andrews said that neither the fire truck nor tanker that were in the bay station appears to have been damaged.
“There was a water heater that was damaged and maybe a couple of other things, but mostly it was the building itself that had the damage,” said Andrews, who noted the station was built in 1981. “This doesn’t look like a quick fix.”
Andrews said the Columbus Police Department is investigating the crash.
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