Never Assume

Crews were dispatched to a two vehicle MVI on Sooke Rd near the Fuse Restaraunt today. Upon arriving on scene I observed both an ambulance and RCMP car with several people wondering about. It was difficult to determine exactly what was going on with all the people about. No obvious wreck was within site. Rescue 2 arrived soon after and were tasked with removing debris from the road as EHS had informed me that there were no injuries. As such, I cancelled Engine 1 and Rescue 1 as there didn't appear to be much to the call. Upon closer investigation, a van was observed in the parking lot of the Fuse with substantial damage to one side. The driver and passenger remarked that they were fine, just a little shook up. I asked where the other vehicle was and was told it was in the driveway of the house across the street. I crossed the road and found the second vehicle involved. It was imbedded into the front of the home. With this information I had both E-1 and R-1 return to check out the house for further damage. Fortunately, nobody was home at the time as the building was undergoing a substantial renovation. The front wall was quite buckled, however as it was not a bearing wall, there was no chance of a structural collapse, the site was ruled safe. AS the vehicle was not leaking any fluids, all units returned to service. As I said in the heading, never assume. Just because another emergency service says things are ok, have a look around to make sure. Each service looks at an incident with a different objective. Make sure we have covered ours before moving on. (I will post some photos as soon as they are available)