Original subtitles

[Narrator] This time on Heavy Rescue: 401...

Okay, man, snug your line up.

[Andy] Gonna tighten my line up.

[Narrator] ...a mangled trailer...

There it goes.

Yeah, it definitely got can-openered, that's for sure.

[Narrator] ...tangles with Austin.

[Duncan] Are you guys ready?

[Narrator] A trio of companies...

[Narrator] ...fights tons of resistance.

-Hold it! -Whoa!

Ho!

[Narrator] ...and a fiery wreck...

We got a dump truck fire!

[Narrator] ...turns up the heat.

[James] It's a huge mess.

[Narrator] On the calendar,

spring is just a few days away...

[Narrator] ...but on highways across southern Ontario,

winter is refusing to let go.

[Narrator] A swath of low pressure

is sweeping over the Great Lakes

and slamming into a mass of Arctic air...

Okay, guys, light 'em up.

[Narrator] ...right over top of Toronto.

[Kerry Schmidt] Orillia Five Tango Zero Zero Seven.

[Narrator] On the 401

in the heart of the city,

one driver is heading through

the worst-hit stretch of highway...

[Kerry] Right now, we have a winter storm warning,

we have a weather advisory,

we have a travel advisory.

You know, a lot of recommendations

from Environment Canada to stay home,

or to not go out if you don't have to.

[Narrator] ...but people ignoring the warnings

are making it a busy night

for Sergeant Kerry Schmidt.

[Kerry] We have about 50 collisions on the go

as we speak,

and that's where we see most of our problems

with drivers going too fast for conditions,

losing control

because they can't hold traction,

or they're slamming into traffic

that's slowing in front of them.

[Kerry] So it's simple.

Any time you are driving in less than ideal conditions,

you need to slow down...

give yourself extra time,

give yourself that extra distance

behind the vehicle in front of you.

[Narrator] By midnight,

the crash count is pushing well over 50.

[crashing]

[Narrator] On the westbound 401 at Dufferin,

the chaotic night is about to get...

[Narrator] ...even worse.

[brakes screeching]

[crunching]

[♪♪♪]

[crunching]

[John Allen] Crazy weather today.

[Narrator] Within minutes,

John Allen is closing in.

OPP's on scene.

We're gonna have to get the highway opened quick.

Oh!

Yeah, I'm pretty close to the live lane here.

It's a little bit slick out here right now.

[Narrator] With five express lanes

bottle-necking into one,

the pressure is on.

[John] The one guy is jackknifed,

and he's actually facing the wrong way on the highway.

The other guy ran into his trailer

right there in the middle of the highway.

I need to get the highway,

couple lanes opened up here right quick,

so I'm gonna drag this sideways.

Once I drag this over sideways,

I'm gonna hook this one up and get it outta the way.

[Narrator] He's got the trucks peeled apart...

[John] You're perfect.

[Narrator] ...but to clear the road quickly,

he needs some backup...

[Narrator] ...and just over a kilometre away,

Chad Grenier is finishing up a job at the next exit.

[Chad answering phone] Yeah.

I'm at Keele and 401.

You got two to go there?

All right.

[John] Traffic's backing up.

That's why I'm trying to rush to get this lane reopened.

[Chad] As I'm approaching the scene,

I see pretty much all the traffic

is down to only one lane or shoulder being open,

and fire and MTO blocking the road.

All right.

-Hey, John? -Yeah.

Grab that, I'm gonna pull this ahead right now.

Once I pull this ahead,

you hop in and make a U-turn with it.

Yeah.

I'm gonna let the police know what I'm doing,

and I'll get this thing turned around.

I've never had the whole thing

facing the opposite direction before.

So my plan is to jump into this thing,

and do a nice U-ey

right in the middle of the highway.

So is it possible you can back up a little bit

and shut it down?

All right.

[Narrator] They need to wrangle the semi around

a full 180 degrees,

shutting down the last open lane.

[Chad] I'll just try not to crush everything.

Cross your fingers.

[John] We have a 53-foot trailer,

probably in about 60 feet from wall to wall.

To make a U-turn,

you're gonna need, you know, an airstrip

to turn this thing around.

It's like guiding an airplane.

Chad, you're perfect.

[John] Chad managed to make this turn in one shot.

He was really close.

I was a little unsure that he was gonna do it,

but he pulled it off.

[Narrator] The express is moving,

but there's a lot of night,

and a lot of weather still to come.

[John] It's after midnight,

but it's just the start of the night, it seems like.

Whew...

I think it's gonna be a busy night.

[Narrator] 400 kilometres east...

[Narrator] ...a new day sees clear conditions

at the far end of the 401...

Okay, gotta go.

[Narrator] ...but despite the good weather,

Duncan Cooper is on the move...

[Duncan] We're on our way up to the 401

in the Morrisburg area.

Got a tractor-trailer down in the ditch.

[Narrator] ...and he's heading there

without his biggest asset.

[Duncan] Today, I'm in the pipes and drums

'cause my big rotator is back at the dealer

getting some warranty work done on it.

Anyways, nature of the beast.

Equipment breaks.

[Narrator] The semi is upright,

but far into the ditch,

and deep into a stand of trees.

[Duncan] Got a tractor-trailer loaded with tires.

Very heavy, very muddy.

She's gonna be a beauty of a job.

The trailer was okay,

but the tractor was just completely demolished.

I mean, the trees went through the hood,

and, you know, went through the rad.

It was a mess.

At least nobody was seriously hurt, you know?

[Narrator] With traffic backing up,

the semi swerved to avoid a car in its path,

veering off the road,

and right into the steep ditch.

He's lucky she didn't go over.

[Narrator] Bill Ewing of Bill's Towing

called Duncan in for some heavy-duty backup.

[Bill] When they get into the mud,

they stop pretty quick,

and it just piles everything up underneath.

[Narrator] With Duncan's rotator out of commission...

[truck honks]

[Narrator] ...they've turned to a third company

for the extra help...

[John Campbell] They're asking for our big iron,

so she's got to be a good pull, that's for sure.

[Narrator] ...John Campbell's Towing.

[John] So it's myself and my son John.

I brought John with me to help pull chains and stuff

'cause, well...

I'm no spring chicken anymore.

[John] As soon as I pulled up on scene,

I realized why they called me.

This thing wasn't just a little bit off the road,

it was way in there.

[Duncan] What's the plan, Bill?

You're the boss.

The plan is getting rid of the trees.

We'll get your heavy in the front.

-Yeah. -Your rotator behind,

and John's at the back end...

start bringing 'er up out.

[Duncan] She's gonna be one hell of a heavy pull, eh?

Look at it just sunk in the mud there.

[Narrator] With 40,000 pounds of tires inside the trailer,

the mud will only increase resistance.

[Duncan] Down at the bottom of the ditch,

it's soft down there.

We have trees all stuck in it.

It always seems to be

you get that one last job of the year in the spring,

and it's just terrible, terrible.

It's heavy.

It's just like this,

and that's gonna be a complete nightmare.

[Narrator] On the 401 just east of London...

[Narrator] ...late-morning traffic

is squeezing past a major scene.

[Mike Ross] Couldn't be worse.

[Austin Hutchinson] I think the biggest thing is,

bringing it over, is hopefully that piece

that's coming through the wall over here

will come out.

[Narrator] It's already been a long morning

for Ross Services' rotator ops Mike Ross

and Austin Hutchinson.

[Mike] That's a lotta hose to wrestle.

[Austin] Yeah, no doubt.

So this guy, when he managed

to flop this truck down into the ditch here,

he's landed actually right on top of one of the signs

that you see along the side of the 401.

It basically acted as a can-opener,

and just ripped the whole side of this trailer wide open

in a couple different spots.

It's not really gonna look to be the prettiest thing

once it's upright,

but as long as we can keep this thing in one piece,

we'll be happy.

[Narrator] They've removed the tractor,

and most of the load of rubber pellets,

but the damaged trailer is ready to fall apart...

[suction whooshing]

[Narrator] ...and lead operator Mike

is needed back at home base...

[Austin] It will be messy.

[Mike] I think I'm gonna shoot down to the yard.

[Austin] Okay, sounds good.

[Narrator] ...so it's up to Austin

to stick-handle the delicate operation.

[Mike] Having Austin around lightens the load on me.

I know he's capable and confident.

[Austin] Michael's probably getting to the point

where he's getting ready to step back a bit

and more oversee everybody else.

I guess that would mean for me

that I'd step up kind of more into a lead role.

-Keep going? -Yeah, don't stop.

[Narrator] It was just three years ago

that Austin joined Mike's crew,

and fought to earn his place...

"One bird is hiding. Can you find it?"

[Narrator] ...and raising a son on his own,

Austin needed the stability

of a firm place in the Ross lineup.

[Austin] I think any single parent would agree

that it's hard to juggle a work life, a home life,

a parent life.

For myself,

I just focus on the job at hand,

and when I'm done,

I'm going to get home to get my boy.

Now the fun starts.

[Narrator] This morning...

Right on.

[Narrator] ...he'll rely on a newer hire,

Andy Lightell on the second wrecker.

[Andy] Austin, he's really good.

Really knows his stuff.

[Austin] We'll lift that corner, and then you can just pin to it.

[Andy] Okay.

For a young guy, he's really, really smart...

[Austin] That piece of I-beam is actually stuck

going up through the side of the trailer wall.

It's definitely taken a little bit of abuse,

this trailer,

going into the ditch.

[Narrator] Andy's 50-tonne will position on the front

with Austin's rotator on the back.

Together they'll lift the trailer off the sign

and onto its wheels.

Make sure that middle one is tight.

Before we stand it up,

strap the two walls together,

make sure they come up together

just because we don't know

how hurt that bottom rail of the trailer is

where it meets the floor.

[suction whooshing]

That's good, brother.

[Austin] So, the biggest concern with this

is that we have to be in sync.

Okay, man, snug your line up.

[Andy] Gonna tighten my line up.

[Austin] If we get any sort of twist on this trailer,

or one of us starts to pull too fast,

we pose a great risk

of ripping this thing right in two.

[Andy] If the trailer breaks apart,

that's a whole lot more work.

Take 'er right over.

We're gonna have to fight with this sign here

a little bit.

It looks like it's stuck

in the side of our trailer here, but...

There it goes.

I like that.

Okay, take your chain off it.

[Narrator] Getting the trailer upright

was one thing...

[Austin] Yeah, it definitely got can-openered,

that's for sure.

[Narrator] ...but in its mangled condition,

they can't simply tow it away.

[Austin] We're gonna have to go real, real easy.

I don't know how it's going to like it.

[Narrator] Austin needs a plan

to safely and securely

move it off the highway.

[Austin] Tilt down, sorry.

[Narrator] ...and without Mike's guidance,

that plan is all up to him.

[Narrator] 550 kilometres east...

[Duncan] It's a good thing we got a couple of kids here,

'cause they don't mind going down.

[Bill] All the prep work,

just so we can hook on.

[Narrator] Duncan, John, and Bill

are guiding their combined crew

to clear a path for the pull.

[Johnny] We're gonna rig up these trees,

get some of them out of the way,

make the recovery of this truck a lot easier,

see what we can do.

[Duncan] Mikey?

How you feeling today, pal?

[Narrator] The latest arrival has just pulled onto scene,

veteran Mike McPhee.

[Duncan] Now, don't work him too hard.

[Narrator] Mike is still waiting

for his next round of surgery

to further repair his injured ankles.

They told me to take it easy,

but I push myself too much.

[Duncan] Yeah, his foot is so bad there,

you gotta really watch him,

'cause he won't stop, eh?

[Johnny] Of course.

Like any typical old boy, don't give up.

[Duncan] Stops when he drops.

[Duncan] As long as he's pulling air in,

he'll always be involved,

but we're getting to the end of winter,

and, you know, he's... he's slowing down.

Okay, I'm gonna help them rig to the other one.

[Johnny] Get a little closer to the base of the tree here,

so we don't rip it all to crap.

[Narrator] There's still one tree

wedged under the tractor

that they need to clear away...

Okay, how close are we?

[Narrator] ...but moving it...

Okay!

[Narrator] ...could impale the undercarriage,

and cause a serious oil leak.

[Bill] It would be somewhat like

pulling porcupine quills out of a dog.

It's just there and nasty.

[Johnny] I'm gonna keep an eye on that oil pan.

[Bill] Yeah, okay!

Looks like it's coming.

[Johnny] There she goes, keep going.

[Johnny] If you pull too hard,

and nick that oil pan,

it's like nicking somebody's artery.

It's just bleeding oil everywhere.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

The roots are right behind the oil pan.

It's gonna clean that oil pan right off of it.

[Narrator] Traffic is still crawling

past the scene outside Morrisburg...

[Duncan] Well, [bleep].

[Johnny chuckles] It's all good.

[Narrator] ...but the combo crew

needs to rethink and re-rig

to divert the tractor away from the stubborn tree.

We're gonna lift the front of the truck,

and we're gonna swing it this way.

There's one tree, I guess, stuck under the oil pan,

they can't get it out.

If we can get the truck coming this way,

then they can finish taking the tree out.

[Duncan] You don't want to damage anything

more than you have to.

The ditch is full of water.

You don't want to drop 30 litres of oil in it.

Let's see what happens here.

[Johnny] Pull the tree! Pull on the tree!

It's comin'! Keep goin'!

[John] Watch your face, son.

I was staring at that oil pan

to make sure that that tree wasn't gonna twist

the wrong way or anything,

'cause as soon as that happened,

then it's game over, the oil is everywhere.

Whoa!

Keep going the other side here.

Give it a pull!

Go ahead!

We're clear of the oil pan!

Perfect, just as planned.

We got that oil pan so it didn't come apart.

[Narrator] But now,

they need to figure out

how to move the semi up the slope.

[Johnny] So, what's the plan?

I ain't gonna be pulling him

up no damn hill like that.

[Mike] He's in there pretty deep.

[Narrator] Back on the western end of the 401...

Did it make it?

Love it.

[Narrator] ...Austin is racing

to tow away the destroyed trailer,

but he's discovered a last-minute problem.

[Austin] We got two flat tires on this side,

so we're gonna chain that up,

tow it off of the rear axle.

[Austin] Quickest option for us at this point

is just to get this thing off the highway,

we're going to chain up the front axle

to keep those tires off the ground,

and that way, we can tow it down the road

without having to worry of losing anything like that.

Make sure you tighten those chains on the front.

These are right tight.

As long as there's no weight on it.

Sometimes you get into a situation

where you gotta come up with a quick fix,

and you've gotta come up with it now.

Yeah, it's off the ground now.

Okay.

[Narrator] An operator who's worked hard

to build a new home, and future,

can chalk up another success.

[Austin] Chains are tight, pins locked.

I just want to keep working on my skill set,

and continue to grow as an operator,

and try to maybe pass on

some of the knowledge that I've learned

to some of the other guys that are coming up in our crew.

[cell phone rings]

Hang on, my phone's ringing.

[Narrator] ...and just as he's ready to roll out...

[Narrator] ...Austin gets a call

about an even more important job.

Okay, bye.

Okay.

All right, well, let's get outta here, then.

[honking farewell]

[Narrator] To answer that call...

Okay, thanks. See ya.

[Narrator] ...20 minutes later,

Austin arrives to pick up his son, Nash.

Having a son is kinda my motivation for everything.

Thanks for being a good boy tonight.

I hope you had fun.

It's the reason I get up in the morning and go to work.

It's the reason I work all night.

It's the reason I lay on the side of the highway

and try to get other people home.

I mean, everybody wants to be at home

with their families, so...

You gonna help me shift gears?

Get your hand on there.

Okay, you ready?

First gear to second gear.

One, two, three, back.

Okay, we're going up there.

One, two, three, up.

Good.

You got 'er, bud.

You're driving the big truck.

[chuckling]

[honking horn]

[Duncan] Watch your back, gentlemen.

[Narrator] Just north of Morrisburg,

the three crews have worked out a plan.

Hooking a chain up on the frame

so we can use it as a steering wheel,

'cause as you can see,

the front axle's non-existent in this thing.

[grunting with effort]

Okay, tighten up your other line.

[Narrator] Their rigging

will need to wrestle the heavy transport

up the steep bank,

without toppling it.

[Duncan] It is heavy, it's loaded with tires...

That other side's sunk right down in the swamp.

Everything's stacked against ya.

[Narrator] Duncan's wreckers will pull the front

as John's rotator holds the trailer upright

so they can wrangle the semi to the road.

-[Duncan] Hey, Matt? -[Matt] Yeah?

[Duncan] Is that a real heavy chain?

[Matt] Yeah, it's our half-inch good chain.

[Narrator] Fighting a 40,000-pound load

and a sharp incline,

Duncan won't take any chances.

[Duncan] I hate to be a prick...

[Matt] No, you don't, don't [bleep] lie to me.

[Duncan] Okay, 'cause I got a three-quarters.

I got the logging chain.

This is my, uh, spring chain.

I only use it in the spring for special occasions.

Don't pull me in there, you big ol' bitch!

[John] But it's better to be too safe.

[John] You can only make a mistake once.

If that chain lets go and hurts somebody,

there's no do-over.

You keep 'em tight,

and just try to keep the trailer pulled...

-Yeah. -...from rolling,

but a little bit of pull, but not to the point

where you're pulling the nuts outta your truck, okay?

Right, and I can't see through those trees yet, so...

[Narrator] All three teams need to communicate

and follow the plan exactly.

[Bill] Duncan and I work together a fair bit,

we know how things are.

Campbell's,

I've never really worked with them before.

Not sure how they do things.

[Duncan] Mikey will be watching my back,

Barry will be watching you.

You don't like something, somebody yell, okay?

-Yeah. -Okay.

Are you guys ready?

Okay!

Pull!

Okay!

Slow 'er down, Barr.

Slow 'er down a bit!

[John] Duncan's sign for "stop"

might be way different than mine,

or somebody might say, "Whoa!"

and you hear, "Go!"

So you really gotta pay attention.

-Oh, it's eating it. -Yeah.

There she goes.

Keep 'er going!

[metal cracking and crunching]

-Hold it! -Hold it!

[Duncan] John's still getting used to his truck...

He wants to catch up a little.

Okay.

It's coming up a very steep embankment,

so he's got 'er.

Like, he's hanging on to that trailer,

and he's making sure it's not going to roll.

He's going.

[Narrator] As the trailer inches

toward the top of the ditch...

Slow down.

[Narrator] ...the weight inside

is threatening to push it over.

Slow him down!

[John] That's the critical point

of every pull.

When you get just to the edge of the road,

that's where things are the steepest.

Hold on!

-Whoa, whoa! -Whoa!

Ho!

-Ho! -Whoa!

[Narrator] On the edge of a steep bank on the 401...

Hold it!

-Whoa, whoa! -Ho!

[Narrator] ...the loaded semi

is ready to tip back into the ditch.

[Mike] He's got no more!

The last thing you want to do is tell a customer

that we just rolled over his trailer.

[Duncan] The weight.

All the weight in the front end of that trailer

is still hanging over the 45th parallel there.

Not quite where I want it to be yet.

[Narrator] Time to adjust the plan.

-Mr. Quan? -Yeah!

Can we get that chain off of there?

And we're gonna grab the pockets

on the far side of the trailer down at the bottom,

and me and Mikey will get this moved over

onto the other side of Barry.

[Narrator] Duncan's shifting his own pulling power

to the front,

where the bulk of the load is sitting...

[Duncan] Should be in free wheel.

[Narrator] ...so the entire back end

will be in the hands of John Campbell,

still new to running his rotator.

[Duncan] You're really gonna have to watch

what's going on back there, eh?

[John] No [bleep],

we're pretty far away from each other.

Technically, in theory,

as we come ahead, it should start to land.

In theory.

John, he got his rotator.

He just got it, you know, just shortly before.

He's a little unsure of things,

especially a ditch like that.

This will be the hard pull, the big pull.

All right, Mr. Wagner.

So he's basically gotta hold it, and we'll pull.

[Mike] Yeah, go ahead!

[Duncan] Yeah,

if you see something you don't like, yell.

[Johnny] Sounds good, sir!

[Duncan] Okay, Barry!

[Johnny] Okay, give 'er, boys!

[Duncan] That's a heavy pull, Barry.

[Narrator] Now

it's all about landing the back end,

and that's all up to John.

[John] The wheels were probably

three, four inches on one side up in the air,

and a good foot on the other side...

A couple more feet.

[Duncan] Okay.

Good enough?

-Yeah. -That's good!

Good!

[Narrator] They've got it back on level ground.

[Duncan] I think we got 'er now.

Yeah, yeah, I think we got 'er.

[Narrator] Now they need to separate the units, but...

[Bill] The dolly legs were well compromised,

so we couldn't rely on them to do anything.

[Duncan] How bad are the dolly legs?

[Johnny] Oh, yeah, [bleep]

Yeah.

[Narrator] The crew was relying on the legs

to hold the trailer level,

so they can remove the tractor...

Every step of the way is a new challenge on this one.

How about if I get right up in here real close

right now, and we, uh...

hook to the other end of the chain,

lift up on the front of the trailer,

pull it out, unpin it,

get the tractor out,

and get my little tractor in here, okay?

We're gonna split right here.

His dolly legs are all broken and bent,

so I'm gonna have to hold it up with the rotator

while we pull his tractor out

and get my little tractor in there.

Good there?

That should be close.

Take 'em both up a little?

There!

You got it, Duncan.

We're unhooked.

It's all yours, Barry!

[Narrator] ...but the move

forces two wreckers to work together...

[Johnny] Go a bit more.

[Narrator] ...in a very tight space.

Whoa!

He's gonna hit it, eh?

Yeah.

Now you're getting too close to my truck.

Go ahead with your truck if you can.

I'm holding the [bleep] trailer up.

[Narrator] As they try to ease the units apart...

Slow down, you truckers!

The speed they're travelling at!

[Narrator] ...they're running out of room.

[Duncan] Okay, Barry?

I'll get the one-tonne,

and see if we can drag the ass end of the tractor

that way.

We're gonna use Bill's one-tonne,

and we're gonna pull the back end of the tractor

away from the back end of my tow truck.

[Narrator] They're relying on Bill's light-duty tow truck

to make the difference.

Yeah, the low one.

Okay.

Hold it! Hold it!

Okay, pull on 'er.

Good.

Whoa!

[Bill] The little trucks sometimes sneak in

and do a little job for you,

and you'd never think that they'd be able to do it,

but they'll pull a lot.

[Narrator] It took every truck...

[Duncan] She's ugly.

[Narrator] ...and every member of every crew,

but the job is done,

and the lane can open again.

Yeah, keep coming.

Three companies working together,

and we got the job done.

Here shortly,

we'll get the highway back opened up.

It was a really good experience,

especially for some of the new guys.

Like, I mean, they picked the biggest, hardest job

to learn on,

but they got it.

Good! You're in. Good.

Thanks for coming out there, John.

My son, he gave 'er big,

and I was quite proud of him.

Thanks, boys!

Nice workin' with ya, buddy.

[Mike] I'm gonna have to slow down in May.

They're gonna re-operate on my ankle again.

In the towing business, you don't stop.

Keep going.

It's been a pleasure, buddy.

-Yeah. It was fun. -Till we do 'er again.

[John] That's what we do,

we're like a brotherhood, right?

We help each other.

It's a good peace of mind

to know you got friends out there.

[honking twice]

[Narrator] The next morning...

[Narrator] ...the sunrise brings clear skies and roads

to Toronto...

[Narrator] ...and the good conditions

stretch north of the city

all the way up Highway 400...

[telephone rings]

[Fabiana] Hello.

[Narrator] ...but at the Rescue 51 yard,

just west of Barrie...

[Fabiana] James?

[Narrator] ...it's go time.

[Fabiana] We've got a dump truck fire.

I already sent Imy 'cause he's close by,

so we gotta roll.

[Narrator] ...James and Fabiana Ireland

are heading north,

where the entire southbound 400 is shut down.

We have the whole team going for this one.

We've got James going in the rotator.

Imy is already there with the 35-tonne.

I'm taking the recovery response unit.

Okay, I heard from Imy.

He's saying the police are freaking out up there.

Sounds like the traffic's already backed up

about five or six kilometres.

[James] The southbound traffic

is completely stopped...

[James] People are out of their vehicles.

Apparently this thing is fully engulfed.

What a scene.

[Narrator] On the 400 north of Barrie,

a raging trailer fire

has stopped all southbound traffic.

[Narrator] OPP Constable Dan Hunter

will help manage the operation.

[Dan Hunter] A closure like this,

this could build two kilometres of traffic backlog

inside of an hour.

Fire's out,

and we need to wait for our heavy rescue folks

to show up.

[Fabiana] As we're pulling up on scene,

I see a whole bunch of firefighters,

and all the lanes are closed.

[James] Still warm. It's crazy.

[Narrator] The trailer has dumped 18 tonnes of gravel

across the highway,

blocking all the southbound lanes.

[James] We've had a pup trailer burn down.

It even burned the sides out of it.

You know, when these tires get burning,

they're very, very hot...

Imy?

The asphalt is still smoking.

It's a pain in the ass.

It's a huge mess to clean up.

[Narrator] Rescue 51 operator Imy Garotz

is already cleaning up the still-smoking remains...

[James] Watch your back.

[Narrator] ...but now

the entire heavy fleet will be on hand

to back him up.

[Narrator] Five years ago,

James and Fabiana struck out on their own

with just a single truck,

and worked to build their fleet,

and their reputation...

[honking truck horns]

...and even their daughter, Sofia,

has grown up to be part of the team.

[Fabiana] We're growing pretty quick.

There's a lot of stuff going on.

We've made a few purchases here and there,

and things are getting busier by the minute.

Oh!

[Narrator] Today,

they're bringing all their tools and skill

to this high-stakes scene.

[Fabiana] The pressure's on right now.

We need to do the cleanup quick

and open this highway.

[James] Dan... Hunter!

He's in the traffic,

and our float'll be coming down, too, so...

we need to get it down here to load it, so...

[Narrator] With the gravel cleared in one lane,

traffic can start to squeeze by...

[James] Tell Mark not to go over the yellow line.

We're gonna open this lane. -Okay.

[Narrator] ...but the six-kilometre

Toronto-bound backup

is still growing.

[Dan Hunter] In order to be able to move

the volume of traffic

that passes on this roadway,

the side roads just don't cut it,

so we're doing everything we can

to reopen this roadway.

Imy, do you want to do me a favour?

Let's start rigging it,

and then I can back in here once the float's here,

and we'll lift it.

Okay.

[Narrator] James plans

to lift the burned-out trailer onto a flat deck...

[honking truck horn]

[Narrator] ...but it's so compromised,

it could collapse in mid-air.

[Imy] Keep coming, keep coming, keep coming.

I think you're good here.

[James] So, this trailer's completely destroyed.

There's no sides left in it,

there's no floor left in it.

That's gonna go to the back, yours,

so bring it there now.

Leave it here?

Bring it around the back.

[James] Finding proper rigging points

is gonna be a bit difficult,

but we need to get this thing rigged and lifted.

Okay, Imy, I'm gonna go up with that one, okay?

-Yeah, with the red one. -Yeah.

Okay, keep going.

Keep going.

Imy, I'm bringing it this way, watch out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I see.

[Fabiana] As James is lifting it,

you know, anything can happen.

It could rupture and fall apart on us.

[James] Okay, nobody underneath it, eh?

[Narrator] Now they need to clear the gravel

that was underneath

to allow access for the flat deck.

[Imy] James, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.

Yeah?

[James] Yeah, that'll get in the drives, let's do that.

[Imy] Yes.

You're almost catching the truck, and if it-- uh...

it will be big problem.

[Narrator] The tangle of burned wires

could get caught in the loader's tracks.

[James] Imy's my right-hand man...

I think you'll be able to peel it off.

...but it only takes a second

for something to go wrong...

Just try not to go underneath too much.

I trust James with his rigging and everything,

but anything can happen,

anything can break.

I don't like Imy being under there.

-Careful! -Watch yourself.

[James] Just try not to go underneath too much.

[Narrator] On the southbound 400,

dangling wires are forcing a risky removal.

[James] Try and grab the wires.

We don't want them to get wrapped in the tracks.

[Narrator] The Rescue 51 crew has to work around,

and under,

a trailer that's barely holding together.

[Fabiana] Careful. Just go slow, Imy.

[James] You gotta be pretty confident in your rigging

when you've got this many people working close to the trailer.

All right.

Yeah, go ahead.

[Narrator] Finally

there's room to clear a path for the flat deck.

[James] Okay, let's back the float in there.

Heads up.

I think that's pretty good, eh?

Okay, going up and out.

[James] Normally, we would have to turn trucks sideways

to lift this trailer.

Now we're sitting in one lane and lifting.

This is what we bought a rotator for.

[James] Excellent.

Love it when a plan comes together.

[Fabiana] Sofia is gonna be so mad.

[James] Uh-huh.

[Narrator] The trailer is clear, and the crew is safe.

The only regret,

one member didn't make it to scene.

Sofia.

She bugs me all the time.

She gets so upset

if she doesn't get to go out and do a call,

or in this case, a recovery.

[James] Heads up!

You know what,

everybody came together here as a team,

and look how fast something like this gets cleaned up.

You know, it's amazing.

Okay, let's go.

Get it put away. -All right.

And that's it.

Now we get to go home and eat.

[James] Yeah, we're done. Yeah.

Orillia One Alpha Two Oh Three.

All your lanes are reopened,

400 southbound at Forbes Road.

[Narrator] Just a few days later,

James is back out on the road,

this time with his daughter.

[James] This is Sofia's first upright,

so it's gotta be pretty exciting for her.

Yellow in.

[Sofia] Some of my earliest memories

are being in the wreckers with Mom and Dad.

Falling asleep in the trucks and stuff like that.

It's grabbing.

[James] When I was learning how to run these tow trucks,

I only learned

by putting my hands on the controls.

Slow down a bit.

Keep going, keep going, but a bit slower.

Okay, hold on. Stop.

Put it on bunny rabbit from turtle.

Okay, stop.

[Sofia] Honestly,

I'm pretty confident behind the controls,

when Dad's telling me what to do,

'cause I know he knows what he's doing,

and I trust him.

Out, Sofia.

Put it on turtle.

Go a little, Sofia.

This is a pretty cool moment for me,

having James on scene

and Sofia at the controls of the rotator.

[James] Boom in.

-Good. -There we go.

This is a first, and hopefully not the last.

[James] Out.

Okay, that'll do.

Let's get it off the road.

[Sofia] When he tells me to do something,

I feel, like, really good doing it,

because I know he knows what he's doing, so...

I wasn't worried, really, no.

[Narrator] James and Fabiana have worked hard

to build their company,

and their future...

-Hi. -Hey! Good job.

Thanks.

[Narrator] ...and days like today

could be the start of the next chapter.

It's fun. [laughs]

Done!

We're outta here, it's cold.

-Yeah. -That was a good job.

-That was great. -Thank you.

[Narrator] Next time

on the season finale of Heavy Rescue: 401...

[Andrew Vink] She's frozen in there.

[Narrator] ...stuck semi...

[Bill Fell] Whoa, Andrew!

[Narrator] ...strikes back.

[Dennis] He's getting ahead of me.

[Eric] Yo! Hey!

Dennis, stay on that, man.

[Narrator] Eric fights...

[Eric] Dennis, Dennis, it's fast!

[Narrator] ...to keep it together.

[Dennis] He's too fast.

[Narrator] ...and Gary and Collin...

So cold, everything's frozen.

[Narrator] ...reach deep.

[Gary Vandenheuvel] I haven't had one

this deep, steep, and stuck

in many, many years.

[♪♪♪]