Sept. 20 (UPI) — Eight firefighters battling the Airport Fire were hurt, six critically, Thursday evening in Irvine, Calif., when a fire truck rolled over as they returned from working to contain the wildfire. Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said no other vehicles were involved in the rollover. He said the firefighters were returning from a 12-hour shift working the Airport Wildfire.
Seven firefighters were taken to hospitals and one was airlifted by helicopter. Two were in stable condition and six were taken to trauma centers in critical condition.
“All the families have been notified, and this is the beginning of a long road for many of those firefighters and our fire department,” Fennessy said.
The fire truck hit a guardrail and turned over on the 241 toll road near SR-133 in Irvine.
California’s Highway Patrol told KABC that a vehicle driving in front of the fire truck swerved to avoid hitting a ladder in the road, which in turn caused the truck to swerve and roll over.
“We send our prayers and support to our @OCFireAuthority partners following a serious traffic collision tonight involving Santiago Hand Crew 1 on the 241 Toll, near Portola. The entire OCFA family is in our thoughts,” the Irvine Police Department posted on X.