Truck hits fire hydrant, causing 60 ft geyser in Berkeley

February 15, 2012 3:49 pm by Tracey Taylor

A big rig driving down Addison towards Fifth Street in west Berkeley made a very sharp turn and took out a water main on the corner of the two streets at around 2:40 pm today. The accident created a 60 ft-high geyser, says Berkeleysider Steven Donaldson who was on the scene and shot the video above.

The voices you hear on the video are Donaldson and the firefighter in charge of the truck. He’s saying  that the firefighter who wades into the gushing water to turn off the jet is actually a trained water rescue specialist — that’s why they (jokingly) picked him.

Related:
Broken fire hydrants sure cause spectacular fountains [04.07.11]
Broken water main floods some downtown streets [03.31.11]
Downtown’s new fountain: today only [12.14.10]
Water, water everywhere: a fountain arises [07.04.10]

3 Comments

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  • http://profile.yahoo.com/N4S3WQDAJHAEYNLWRH34ZXUXKU Brian Y

    Do water shutoff valves really close in the counter-clockwise direction?

  • Haselstein

    Why wasn’t he using the truck route?

  • Toni Mester

    Haselstein,
    According to Figure 4:7 (Emergency routes and truck routes) in the West Berkeley Project DEIR (page 4-146), there are no designated truck routes west of San Pablo Avenue. I have been trying, without success so far, to get Councilmember Darryl Moore to act on our residential neighborhood’s desire for a 3 ton prohibition for the R-1A zone between University and Ashby east of 6th. The inner Oceanview between University and Cedar west of San Pablo has such a cordon. With plans for increased development west of 6th street and the amount of business traffic in that area, it’s doubtful that the City would prohibit truck traffic west of 6th. However this accident is certainly another argument for protecting the residential neighborhoods east of 6th, especially the bike routes, Ninth and Channing.