VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) β When you see fire trucks, you assume help is on the way, but in this case, they were part of the problem for some Virginia Beach residents.
Off Birdneck Road at the Birdneck Village Apartments, some residents park their cars on the side of the streets and in the parking spots. The Virginia Beach Fire Department was responding to a call, and when the crew was leaving, the engine was going through a parking lot. After going over multiple speed bumps, the 1-and-three-fourths inch hose bundle at the back of the firetruck detached from the rear. VBFD said the hose bed netting was secured.Β
The loose hose got stuck under a parked car's front tire, and the remaining 400 feet of the hose unraveled, according to VBFD.
βAs it fully deployed, it tightened, resulting in the movement of several parked vehicles along the street," the Virginia Beach Fire Department said. "The hose eventually split at a coupling, causing a recoil effect both toward the engine and back toward the 24th Street turn.β
In photos sent to 10 On Your Side from Chris Fagan, you can see the yellow hose on the ground beneath multiple cars in the parking lot.Β

Courtesy: Chris Fagan

Courtesy: Chris Fagan

Courtesy: Chris Fagan

Courtesy: Chris Fagan

Courtesy: Chris Fagan
Once it split, it hit multiple cars in the parking lot and on the side of the street.Β
Julia DeMossβ car was parked on the side of the street, and when she came out, she was shocked by the damage.Β
βI realized it was totally smashed,β DeMoss said.Β
VBFD said all its crew were wearing headsets, and the truck windows were rolled up, preventing them from hearing the incident, and no one was aware the hose had deployed because it was dark.Β
DeMoss said her car is totaled.Β
βI initially thought that it was just the windshield," she said. There had been some cosmetic scrappage on the hood of my car and some on the roof. But what happened was, because the fire hose hit so hard in the windshield, it turned the glass into a fine powder that leaked into the vents of my car,β said DeMoss.
DeMoss said her car is filled with micro-shards of glass. Her car was paid off, and she said the city has not been helpful.Β
βI had to pay out of my pocket and use my insurance to be able to protect myself,β DeMoss said.
10 On Your Side reached out, and the cityβs finance Risk Management Division is working to address the damages.Β
But itβs been more than a week, and DeMoss has not seen any help.Β
βThe city operates as its own insurance company, from what I understood, and so they weren't able to put in writing that I would be guaranteed reimbursement on a rental car," she said. "They sent it verbally, but wouldn't put it in writing. And so, I just didn't feel comfortable with how the process worked. I felt that as somebody who was sort of a victim in the situation, I didn't have the support that I thought."
10 On Your Side reached out to Virginia Beach for clarification on its insurance coverage, but we have not heard back.Β
There were no injuries reported, and the Virginia Beach Fire Department said the incident resulted only in property damages.Β