BOSTON -- Nine days before the ladder truck crash that killed Lt. Kevin Kelley, another rescue vehicle experienced brake failure, Team 5 Investigates has learned.

"We entered Frawley Street up there, we had no air pressure, the warning sound went on, the light went on, my brake pedal went right to the floor," said Ed Doherty, driver of Ladder 23.

Team 5 Investigates Rhondella Richardson reported that at about 9 pm on New Years Eve, a 20 year-old spare ladder truck crashed into a fence. That crash happened about a block away from the site of the crash that killed Kelley.

"Soon as I heard about them, I had a pit in my stomach. I mean, the similarities are eerie. Looking at Huntington Avenue, loss of brakes, a block away. Unbelievable," Doherty said.

"We are lucky were up here. If we were halfway down the street, there's no telling what would have happened then, you know? We have no brake pressure at all. Nothing," said Lt. Robert Santangelo, of Ladder 23.

The Frawley Street fence folded like a paper bag, but fortunately, tangled beneath the ladder truck bringing it to a stop before smashing into a multifamily apartment building.

Team 5 discovered there was no police report. An internal report was filed documenting defective brakes. Firefighters said the crash should have raised red flags about the fleet.

"It absolutely should have, and the crash two years again when Ladder 26 crashed into a building on Parker Hill Avenue," said Ed Kelly of the Firefighters Union.

Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser said there were no programs in place that followed the manufacturer's guidelines for maintenance and repair.

"It's our No. 1 priority to put that in place with professional mechanics," he said.

But firefighters said even without a program in place, there should have been more urgency.

"I don't know where the paper trail goes, but maybe there should be if someone loses their brakes, maybe an alarm should go off as opposed to a regular accident," Doherty said.

Currently, there are 11 vehicles -- engines and ladder trucks -- that are being inspected and repaired.