Eight Orange County firefighters returning from a long shift fighting the Airport fire on Thursday were injured after a fire utility truck rolled over on a toll road, officials said
Six of the Orange County Fire Authority firefighters were seriously hurt after their truck crashed and overturned, said Fire Chief Brian Fennessy. The crash was reported around 6:50 p.m. on the northbound 241 Toll Road just north of Portola Avenue.
A crew from OCFA arrived minutes after the crash and began medical treatment before requesting additional support. Nine paramedics units, 12 ambulances and three helicopters responded.
Seven firefighters were transported to several area hospitals by ambulance, and one was transported by an OCFA helicopter, officials said
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Six firefighters were seriously hurt, and two had minor injuries, KCAL reported. CHP investigators told KCAL that the fire utility truck and a vehicle in front of it swerved because of a ladder in the road. The fire truck then collided with a nearby guard rail and overturned, KCAL reported.
The firefighters had just finished a 12-hour shift fighting the Airport fire, which has charred thousands of acres of wildland in Orange and Riverside counties over the last several days, when the crash occurred on the toll road, Fennessy said.
Fire crews who responded to the crash were participating in a critical incident stress debriefing at OCFA headquarters Thursday night, Fennessy said.
“You can only imagine how traumatic it is,” Fennessy said, “for their brother and sister firefighters to see them injured like that on the freeway.”
Fennessy asked that the public pray for the injured firefighters and their families.
Traffic on northbound State Route 133 was being diverted to exit to Irvine Boulevard, and onramps for northbound State Route 133 were closed at Irvine Boulevard, the Irvine Police Department said.
The 241 also was closed in both directions Thursday night, KCAL reported.