Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DRAPER — David Banner remembers heading back to the South Mountain Fire Station in Draper last Friday after finishing a medical call at the top of SunCrest.
He also remembers the moment he started getting nervous.
"Our engineer, Tyler says, 'Hey, our brakes are getting soft.' I didn't think much of it at the time until we started picking up speed," said Banner, who is a firefighter and paramedic with the Unified Fire Authority.
Banner was in the back of one of the fire trucks while Tyler Livingston, the engineer/driver, kept pumping the brakes hoping he could stop the truck.
"I tried stopping, and once I got to a little steeper grade, our brakes go out completely," said Livingston.
It's bad enough not being able to stop a large fire truck.
It's even worse when you're coming down Traverse Ridge Road, a steep mountain road with lots of curves and drop-offs.
"We knew from experience this wasn't a road you want to lose your brakes on," said Captain Jeremy Robertson, who was in the passenger seat. "Tragically enough, there have been several fatalities from vehicles that have lost their brakes."
Still, Robertson remained calm.
This particular fire truck was equipped with a captain's switch, which is a little switch the person in the passenger's seat could push to apply the truck's air brakes.
It's meant to stop the truck in the event the driver ever passed out or had some sort of problem.
"Captain tells everybody to make sure we were buckled up and to brace for impact," said Banner.
Robertson flipped the switch.
Nothing happened.
"The brakes were just too far gone," said Robertson.
That's when the firefighters knew they were in an emergency, sitting in a large fire truck that couldn't stop.
They were picking up speed as Livingston steered the truck in and out of curves, with steep drop-offs at several points on the road.
"I threw it into first gear. It at least slowed us down a little bit, and it was the only thing that kept us going at a slower rate of speed," said Livingston.
Still, they all knew the danger ahead.
There was a construction zone, several cars and a busy intersection just down the road. Robertson decided to get on the radio and call for help.
We have no brakes on Traverse Mountain. We're coming down Traverse Mountain in an engine with no brakes. Advise Draper police we need an escort and intersection blocked at Highland Drive.
–Captain Jeremy Robertson
In a recording provided to KSL, Robertson can be heard asking dispatch for help immediately.
"We have no brakes on Traverse Mountain. We're coming down Traverse Mountain in an engine with no brakes," said Robertson on the recording. "Advise Draper police we need an escort and intersection blocked at Highland Drive."
As they continued to pick up speed, Livingston wasn't sure how much longer he could control the truck, so they came up with a plan.
"We realized this could go on for some while and the public would be at risk," said Robertson.
"We were just looking for a place to crash this thing," said Livingston.
Meanwhile, in the back, Banner braced for impact, knowing he couldn't do anything but hold on.
"My role was to just be the cheerleader, 'Don't kill us guys,'" Banner said with a laugh.
Livingston and Robertson knew of a relatively flat spot on the road near Mike Weir Drive where an embankment on the right side of the road might give them a chance to ditch the truck and slow down.
"When we got to this point, we went up onto the hillside to try to lose as much speed as we could," said Robertson.
Then, at the last minute while on the hillside, Livingston turned the truck back toward the road so they wouldn't flip over.
"Our chances were very few," said Livingston.
It worked.
The truck didn't flip over, it stopped and everyone was OK.
"Relief. There was a lot of relief once we stopped," said Livingston with a laugh. "We were pretty excited we were all still alive."
Livingston and Banner went outside the truck to make sure the brakes weren't on fire.
"I personally just sat there in the engine for a minute," said Robertson. "I got back on the radio to let everybody know we were OK."
The cause of the brake failure is now being investigated.
For these firefighters, though, they now say they feel closer than they were before.
"I loved these guys before, and I still love them now," said Banner. "It's good to work with guys who know their job and do it well."
"It's one of those harrowing things that you go through in the brotherhood that draws you close," said Robertson. "I'm glad everybody is OK, and there are a lot of good lessons we can learn from this."
Contributing: Mark Wetzel
Related Story
