On Thursday, eight firefighters were injured in a severe highway crash involving a fire truck in Southern California, according to authorities. The incident occurred on the California State Route 241 just north of Portola Hills when the truck overturned while transporting a ground crew after their 12-hour shift fighting the Airport Fire – a massive wildfire in Orange County.
Chief Brian Fennessy of the Orange County Fire Authority explained that a ladder lying in the road caused the fire truck to swerve, strike a guard rail and ultimately overturn. The extent of injuries varied among the eight firefighters; some were transported by helicopter to hospitals, while others were taken away by ambulance.
The emotional impact of the incident is expected to be profound on all those involved in the rescue mission. As such, all crews that were present during the incident are undergoing a formal critical incident stress debriefing at their headquarters. This process aims to help firefighters cope with the traumatic experience of seeing their colleagues injured so severely on the freeway.
You can only imagine how traumatic it is for their brother and sister firefighter to see them injured like that on the freeway,” Fennessy stated, highlighting the emotional strain this incident has placed upon the entire team.
The Orange County Fire Authority remains committed to ensuring the well-being of its staff while they continue to work diligently on managing ongoing wildfires and assisting those affected by them in their community.
