At 4:23 pm, Contra Costa Fire Protection District crews rushed to an incident where a vehicle carrying three people went over an embankment and caught fire along Somerville Road within Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve.
When crews arrived, they found the three victims had already self-extracted themselves from the vehicle as the roof happened to catch fire. Quint 83 quickly put out the fire without incident. It appeared none of the three people in the vehicle were injured as they stood on the side of the road watching the crews work.
Crews arrived within 6-minutes (Quint 83) of the dispatched call which is remarkable considering they had to travel 4-miles up a winding road.
“It’s a case of everything went right and units were all in the right place at the right time with units on the road when it happened,” said Battalion Chief Bob Atlas
Given the location of the vehicle and how it caught fire, Atlas stated it had potential to create big problems and get out of hand pretty quickly given the dry brush in the area. He reiterated this was a major vegetation threat that crews were able to limit the damage.
“It’s pretty lucky that we didn’t have anything develop from it,” said Atlas. “The way the accident occurred and the way cars are built today, they are lucky they did not get more seriously hurt.”
The Antioch Police Department, California Highway Patrol, and American Medical Response also responded to the call.
Not details have been released about how the car went off the embankment.
