It was an ordinary fast food drink cup filled with ice and water that cost, at most, two or three dollars.
But it was enough to take a $650,000 Township of Langley Fire Department pumper truck out of service for a week.
Engine 4-1, a 1998 American LaFrance Eagle/Anderson with a three-man crew aboard was returning to fire hall No. 4 in Willoughby on Saturday (June 4) after a medical assist call.
It was about 10:50 p.m. and the pumper was a few blocks from home, heading south on 202A Street in the 7500 block when someone in an oncoming vehicle tossed a drink at the fire truck.
The closing (combined) speed of the two vehicles was well over 120 km/h.
The crew saw headlights, then heard the impact.
The two-piece fire truck windshield shattered on both sides, showering the crew with shards of glass.
To the driver, it appeared a large rock had gone though the windshield.
He looked behind him to see if anyone was hurt.
No one was, but the crew would later spend more than an hour cleaning out the breathing apparatus stored inside the cab, to make sure there were no fragments of glass inside the face masks and hoses.
Neither the firefighters nor the occupants of a third vehicle that witnessed the incident were able to get a clear look at the vehicle responsible, which left the scene.
A search of the area located the cup.
Township of Langley fire department District Chief Bryant Ross said the pumper would be out of service at least a week until replacement windshields could be shipped in from Calgary.
“I don’t think it was malicious” Ross said.
“It was just a boneheaded move. What were they thinking?”
A precise estimate of the cost wasn’t available, but it was expected to be in the thousands of dollars.
Langley RCMP are investigating.
Any one with information about the incident is asked to call RCMP at 604-532-3200 or to remain anonymous, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit www.solvecrime.ca.