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Millions of people around the United States have been forced to grapple with the frigid conditions that have gripped regions across the country in recent weeks, and harrowing footage of a fire truck losing control outside of St. Louis highlights just how dangerous the conditions have become.
While most Americans expect the temperature to dip when winter rolls around, there’s only so much you can do to prepare for the inclement conditions that have a tendency to rear their ugly head during the coldest months of the year—a reality that’s been firmly highlighted thanks to what’s transpired over the course of January.
It’s relatively easy to deal with snow if you reside in an area that’s historically been subjected to that form of precipitation. Ice, on the other hand, is a very different beast with the ability to transform entire regions into veritable skating rinks and subsequently create some pretty scary scenes.
Folks in Portland, Oregon were subjected to some brutal conditions when an ice storm paralyzed the city last week, and residents in the Midwest have found themselves grappling with the same issue courtesy of a large mass of cold air that’s currently making its way across the country.
Emergency services tasked with responding to an uptick in calls stemming from the weather have subsequently found themselves faced with a bit of a catch-22, as they’re obviously not immune to the issues that come with attempting to navigate roads covered in a sheet of ice.
That was the case with a fire truck that was attempting to navigate a neighborhood in Imperial, Missouri (a suburb south of St. Louis), as multiple residents filmed the vehicle skidding out of control and almost barreling into the house it came to rest next to after crashing into a car out front.
According to Fox 2, no one was injured in the crash, although it’s safe to assume the car that bore the brunt of the damage is going to need a fair amount of work.
Thankfully, a reprieve is on the imminent horizon, as temperatures around the United States are expected to rise in the coming days and usher in a much-needed thaw.