Fire truck in chain-reaction collision en route to fire

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Four firefighters were among seven people injured Friday night in a chain-reaction crash involving a Kansas City fire truck.

The truck was nearing a house fire about 9 p.m. when the accident occurred after a vehicle pulled in front of it.

Police Sgt. Jim Fuller said the fire truck, eastbound on 85th Street, had pulled into the westbound lanes to clear an intersection because of heavy traffic when a Ford Explorer pulled into its path.

Officials said the truck had its sirens and lights on.

The fire truck hit the Explorer and continued through the intersection, and at least three other vehicles were struck in a chain reaction.

All four firefighters were taken to a hospital, where their conditions were not immediately known. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Ambulance Services Trust said it appeared that none of the four was seriously hurt.

The other three people who were injured were taken to hospitals, where their conditions were not available.

The house fire left one person dead, a woman whose identity was not immediately known. Authorities on the scene said she was at home alone.