DOZENS DEAD IN BRADDOCK TUNNEL AS WITNESSES SAY FIRE FIGHTERS STOOD BY FOR HOURS

Dozens of people are dead after explosions and a subsequent collapse tore through the Braddock Tunnel last night, and multiple witnesses on scene say Paleto Bay Fire Department crews did not move to enter the tunnel for well over an hour after arriving — even as survivors could be heard screaming from inside.

The blasts hit the tunnel around 11 PM, reportedly moments after a U.S. Army convoy out of Fort Zancudo passed through. Several witnesses near the entrance said they heard what sounded like gunfire mixed in with the explosions, though accounts differ on timing and none have been able to say with certainty where the shots came from. "It wasn't just booming, there were pops in there too, like gunshots," one man who was idling near the tunnel mouth said. "I've hunted my whole life, I know what a gun sounds like."

The Daily Assumption has not confirmed whether gunfire was involved in the incident. Paleto Bay Fire and HPMS arrived within minutes, according to multiple accounts, but witnesses say crews held back at the tunnel entrance rather than advancing inside, citing collapse risk. The tunnel gave way completely sometime after 2 AM, at which point officials shifted the operation from search and rescue to recovery. Only one survivor has been confirmed pulled from the wreckage as of this morning.

Several people who escaped the tunnel before the collapse told The Daily Assumption that firefighters were visibly present but inactive during the period when survivors were still calling out for help. "My wife is dead because Paleto Bay Fire and those HPMS pricks couldn't grow a pair of balls and walk into some smoke," said one man, who says his wife remains unaccounted for. "They had trucks, ladders, all the gear in the world, and they just stood there."

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One witness who escaped the tunnel and ran toward the fire crews for help said she saw a firefighter seated in one of the trucks watching videos on his phone while she screamed for someone to go back in for her friend. "I was standing right there losing my mind and this guy is watching bleeter videos," she said. "When I yelled at him he just looked at me and flipped me off. Didn't say a word, just gave me the finger and went back to his phone." The Daily Assumption has not independently verified this account, but two other bystanders in the area said they witnessed a similar exchange

HPMS reportedly did not advance toward the tunnel mouth until after the collapse, by which point the operation had already been reclassified as a recovery effort.

Weazel News first reported that a county infrastructure review completed six weeks ago had already flagged the tunnel's support structure and its long-defunct ventilation system, and that the county was told about it and sat on it.

Background on the tunnel collapse and the county's prior infrastructure report was first reported by Weazel News. All witness accounts, survivor interviews, and reporting on the emergency response in this story are The Daily Assumption's own.

ARTICLE UPDATE

Paleto Bay Fire Department has issued the following statement
> I believe My people and the people at EM made the best decisions for safety that they could with the Info given to them at the time other than that please refer to what is released by the ATF and the Authorities from Fort Zancudo and what their investigation finds