Transcript Staff Writer

Two Norman firefighters, while responding to a single-vehicle rollover accident early Tuesday, were injured when their fire engine turned on its side.

Gerald Croslin and Neal Reese were treated at Norman Regional Hospital and released, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jim Bailey.

Bailey said Croslin, acting in the capacity of relief driver, and Reese were the only occupants of the fire engine at the time of the accident.

The fire engine and a brush truck occupied by a captain and a firefighter were responding at about 5:30 a.m. to the vehicle rollover on Nelson Road in east Norman.

The fire engine tipped over on 156th Avenue, about one-half mile north of Highway 9, Bailey said.

"The weather condition was heavy downpour, and the fire truck's right side tires left the roadway and went into the mud. While trying to bring the truck back on the roadway, the engine tipped over on its passenger side," he said.

Bailey said the two men extricated themselves by removing the fire engine's windshield.

Both firefighters were taken to Norman Regional Hospital with minor injuries. Reese had a laceration to one of his hands and Croslin had a laceration to his scalp and an injured shoulder, Bailey said.

When other emergency responders arrived at the location of the rollover accident on Nelson Road, no one was in the vehicle, Bailey said.

"That person had walked home," he said. "That often happens."

Croslin and Reese were scheduled to be off work for four days, having finished their standard rotation.

"While Reese is expected to return to work, we won't know for a few more days if (Croslin) will be off any longer due to the shoulder injury," Bailey said.

Officials are assessing damages to determine if the fire engine would be cheaper to repair or replace, Bailey said. The fire engine was purchased in 1997 for $185,000, he said.

Tom Blakey 366-3540 tblakey@normantranscript.com