Spikes happen. If you visit the NTSB’s aviation accident search page and simply put in any one-month date range at random you’ll see there’s a steady drumbeat of people killing themselves and others in airplanes. The newsworthiness of most such events is small and local. ISTM the spike is more in newsworthiness than in accidents themselves.
As to this particular accident, @Magiver found an interesting aviation news link which he shared here
From his cite it appears the fire brigade was conducting a drill to race from someplace in the construction zone (perhaps their new fire station) to someplace on the existing active part of the airport (perhaps the existing terminal). And somehow forgot they needed clearance to cross the active runway. Or thought they had it when they didn’t. Bad luck on timing sealed the deal.
We joke about trucks crossing the runway or fire trucks being in the way during an emergency landing. As in, “You’d better move, I’m a lot bigger than you are!” Same as semi-truck drivers probably joke amongst themselves about bulldozing wayward cars out of the way if necessary. The evidence here shows that although airplanes are indeed much bigger and faster than airport fire trucks, they’re also rather more fragile. Which is not actually a surprise. Cartoon physics only exists in cartoons for a reason. A well-understood reason.
A really shitty day at work for all concerned.