Gouge and Dollar were in the bucket pouring water on the flames when metal parts of the ladder structure sheared, dumping the firemen to the ground.
"[We] raised the ladder up to probably 40 or 50 feet to go up over a tree and then lowered it down to probably 12 to 15 feet off the ground. That's when it broke," Gouge said. "There was no twisting, nothing at all. It fell and we fell so fast that we hit the ground before we knew what happened."
Dollar said being back on the truck Thursday was like getting on the first time. Both men suffered cuts and bruises in the accident.
"I was really sore the next day, but I just thank God that that's all it was because just a minute before, it would probably have been a different story," Dollar said.
Dollar is also thankful other firemen were not hurt.
"When I realized I was OK, my first thoughts were, 'Are the folks on the ground OK?' because there were people under us. I know there were people under us, right beside us," he said.
After practicing in the fire bucket Thursday, both men said they are ready to go back to work.
• Credits
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