Yes, there would be questions. But as others have pointed out, it may have been unavoidable. Not going to be an armchair quarterback, but maybe forming a perimeter to creat a safe zone would have been in order, rather than driving right up to the break. None of us really knows, we weren't there. Here in Honolulu, we have a VARC (vehicle accident review commitee) that reviews every accident, no matter how big or small, and determines whether or not it was avoidable. During my 28 years I cannot recall a single one being unavoidable. I was on the withering end of the VARC myself when I was an engineer, and guess what - my accident was avoidable. Go figure.

Bottom line, all the rules and regs are designed to maximize SAFETY. Leading cause of firefighter deaths is a lack of SOP's. That's why the ICS was created. All it takes is one captain who lets his emotions take over and rushes his crew into a burning or collapsing structure without backup and you've got the potential for dead firefighters.

Personally, I enjoyed the BBQ part of my job much more.

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