Partially collapsed parking garage leaves Chicago firetruck hanging for hours

For roughly eight hours, a firetruck was suspended in the air after a portion of a Chicago parking garage unexpectedly collapsed, ABC reports. The only thing that kept the 43,000-pound fire engine from falling was a few inches of front bumper that was clinging to the pavement. Fortunately, nobody was injured. 

The incident occurred on the south side of Chicago at a nursing home parking garage. According to reports, the firetruck was driving up the garage but temporarily stopped and backed up to let a car out. That's when a segment of the garage collapsed beneath the emergency vehicle. Witnesses and nearby pedestrians said it was so loud and harsh that it shook the facility. In a stroke of good luck, nobody was walking or parked beneath the area where the concrete crumbled. The driver exited through the back without issue. 

According to WGN, a total loss on a firetruck could have cost Chicago up to $500,000, but it never came to that. Showing the strength of the firetruck's build, the front bumper kept the cabin stable and level. To help ease the load, hundreds of gallons of water were pumped out of the truck's tanks. Still, seeing the front wheels of a vehicle suspended in the air is usually something only seen in movies. 

The rescue and removal took nearly the entire day. Authorities brought in a massive crane to strap beneath the truck, lift it up, and roll it backward out of harm's way. For more information, watch the video above or head to ABC News.