Fire trucks, fire water don't mix

When you get drunk and get behind the wheel, the last thing you want to do is call attention to yourself. It looks like this guy found that out the hard way.

A fire chief in Penobscot County has been charged with being drunk behind the wheel while driving a fire truck with its lights on and its sirens going.

Russell Banks of Burlington was arrested around midnight Saturday after a resident complained that Banks was racing a fire tanker by his home even though there was no fire in the area.

Banks, 34, is chief of the Triangle Fire Department, a volunteer association that provides service for Burlington, Lowell and Grand Falls Township.

When a Penobscot County sheriff's deputy responded, he located the truck and noticed that Banks smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes. A blood alcohol test showed Banks was at twice the legal limit.

The article doesn't mention whether or not he's been fired. I would hope so.