A half-dozen California firemen are battling for their lives in the hospital after their fire truck somersaulted on a freeway during a return trip from fighting a wildfire.
The six were part of a crew returning from fighting the large Airport Fire which has scorched its way across two counties; the crew was knocking off after a 12-hour shift. The group was driving back to their station when their truck crashed on September 20 near Portola Springs in Orange County.
According to Brian Fennessey, fire chief for Orange County, the six firefighters have a “tough road ahead.” The wounded men are “going to be hospitalized for quite a while,” he added.
The California Highway Patrol said that a ladder dropped in the middle of the road caused both the fire truck and another car to swerve. The fire truck then hit a guard rail and flipped over.
A dozen ambulances and at least one helicopter rushed to the scene, and one firefighter was flown to the hospital while the rest were taken by ambulance. Chief Fennessey said fellow firefighters are “devastated” to have to see their friends lying with severe injuries “in the middle of the freeway.”
As of this report, the six firemen are listed in various conditions from stable to critical, but there are no details yet on their specific injuries. A total of eight were injured and taken to the hospital. Two have already been treated and released.
Dr. Humberto Sauir is the director of trauma services for Orange County Global Medical Center. He said two of the crewmen came in with critical injuries, and that one of them is “critical but stable.” The second is still “quite critical,” he said.
These firefighters worked on what’s called the Santiago Handcrew. They work on the front lines of fires and put in long and difficult shifts, sometimes working for an entire 24-hour cycle before getting a rest. Chief Fennessey said it takes youth to put in that kind of hard labor and the members need to be in top physical condition to endure it.
The Airport Fire is still not under control though crews have been trying to contain it since the blaze sparked on September 9.
