Comments by "SmallSpoonBrigade" (@SmallSpoonBrigade) on "Chief suspends several firefighters following crash with Brightline train" video.

Yes, and I'd add that if for some reason you do break down on the track. Immediately get everybody out and find the number of the crossing for the office handling the traffic management. Or call 911 to report it to emergency dispatch so they can try to get the trains that might be on their way stopped.
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They call it paid leave, but there'll probably be a fair number of appointments for things like interviews and medical exams. The paid leave is important as it's less than ideal to let them keep working, or put them on unpaid leave where they may quit even if the investigation winds up clearing them.
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@maryannbravo5650 Not necessarily, sometimes organizations are led by people that push to hard for targets that incentivize careless behavior and there was probably somebody higher up riding shotgun that could have said no as well. 4 of them are unpaid leave, but it's entirely possible that some of them will be cleared to go back to work. It's a miracle that nobody on the fire truck was seriously injured and that the train didn't derail.
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@divinecomedian2 Depending upon what led to this and the specific conditions, there are various possibilities from nothing to demotion to firing to potential criminal charges. They won't really know what the appropriate response is until the investigation is done. That being said, I'd be very much surprised if the folks in the cab managing the driving aren't severely punished. Fire trucks are extremely expensive and there could have been a large number of people hurt, especially if the train had derailed as a result of the collision.
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It's the chain of command, they need to consider the possibility that there was a culture that led to the crash. In all likelihood the ultimate repercussions will be more localized to the people operating the truck, but sometimes the problem just reveals issues that are occurring higher up.
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@Green__one Yes, and that seems to be what's happening. I'm definitely not an expert, but it does appear that the driver and somebody in charge on the truck are in the list. And a couple of higher ups that are probably just included in case there's some sort of cultural issue in the department that contributed. It remains to be seen what happens, but they'll probably be off the hook, as long as they weren't pressuring people to push the limits.
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@dancovaleski6520 Possibly, paid leave means that they are investigating and don't have enough to fire them on the spot. I think it's highly likely that somebody will be fired and there may well also be others that get demoted.
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@metropod Yes, and in this case the viewers can make their own judgment about what is on the tape. But, cameras can at times distort things, not that that applies here.
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It could still happen, folks are on paid leave while the investigation proceeds.
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@ronbennett7885 Yep, the way the crossing normally work is that it's the lights and the bell, then the gates start to go down. After the train passes the process is reversed. And yeah, grade separation would be great, but it's hard to do after a line is already in service. From what I understand, these are pre-existing tracks that brightline started using. It can be more realistic to build an overpass, but that has it's own set of issues and expenses.
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@Green__one I don't believe that the flashing lights apply to railroad crossings. They do apply to most other situations, it's why they're able to drive the wrong way down streets if they have to and go through red lights, assuming the transponder hasn't got the light changed for them.
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Yes, but keep in mind that it's not just the culpability that's being considered, it's also what the punishment should be.
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My assumption is that they want to investigate if there's a culture that led to this. I think that they'll probably wind up disciplining the folks on the truck involved with the actual crossing, but who knows. But,we'll have to see. My guess is that the Assistant Chief will probably not be found to have any responsibility, but who knows.
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It's paid leave now, that does not mean that there won't be punishment coming. Although, I would think this would be pretty cut and dry, at least as far as the driver goes.
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@modtwentyeight Yes and from what I can tell, those are usually automated, so there was something coming, or at least the sensor thought there was. And, it turns out that, yes there was a train coming, it wasn't a malfunction. Even if it was a malfunction, the thing is to call the office of whomever it is that's coordinating the rail traffic to get the trains slowed down enough to be able to stop for the crossing.
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@concerned_2023 In situations like this, there's also sometimes a culture where higher ups are putting pressure on subordinates to push the limits.
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@kaylapalooza66 Yes, also consider that in most areas, the crossing is automatically activated when a train is coming, so if it's still down, there's a high probability of another train coming. I'm sure these do break occasionally, but it's far more likely that another train is coming than that the crossing is broken. And, even if it is broken, the thing to do is to call the number of the crossing or back up and find an alternate place to cross the tracks.
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The accountability comes later after the investigation. There'll be meetings, interviews, probably medical exams before those 4 are allowed to go back to work, assuming that they aren't fired or demoted. I think most people would rather pay folks like that for paid leave than worry about potentially dangerous firefighters showing up when they're needed.
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Yep, the last time I crossed railroad tracks the bells started to chime just as I entered the crossing. I completed the crossing because the bells and lights start with time for anybody that is in the crossing to cross and for folks that aren't to stop before the arms go down. But, there really is no reason for people to wind up on the wrong side of the arms if they don't have a break down.
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They'd be on the hook either way. Being self-insured also means that the rates won't go up as a result of this beyond the money it cost to pay this off.
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