IRVINE, Calif.—A half-dozen members of an Orange County Fire Authority hand crew who were injured in a rollover crash while leaving the Airport Fire lines remained hospitalized Friday, at least four of them in critical condition.
“We’ve got a tough road ahead,” OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy told reporters at a Friday morning briefing outside Orange County Global Medical Center in Irvine. “Many of the injured are going to be hospitalized for quite a while.”
Eight firefighters were injured when a transport truck carrying the hand crew swerved and rolled over on the northbound Foothill (241) Toll Road in Irvine around 6:50 p.m. Thursday. Fennessy said the crew was heading back to the Airport Fire command post after completing a 12-hour shift on the fire line.
Two of the injured firefighters were treated and released Thursday night at Hoag Medical Center, while three were taken to Mission Hospital, two to OC Global Medical Center and one to UC Irvine Medical Center. Fennessy said the firefighter at UC Irvine was expected to be released soon. He said four of the eight firefighters in the crash were more severely injured than the others.
Dr. Humberto Sauri of OC Global Medical Center told reporters Friday morning that both firefighters being treated at that facilities remained in the intensive care unit. He said one is “critical but stable,” while “the other remains quite critical still.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Various reports have suggested the driver of the truck carrying the crew swerved to avoid hitting a ladder on the roadway, but Fennessy said he could not confirm that report.
The vehicle “did swerve for whatever [reason] and did roll several times. What caused that? Again, I have some thoughts but I don’t have any factual information.”
He said the truck involved has individual seating for firefighters.
“They do have all the protections that are required,” Fennessy said. “I don’t know this for sure, but I’m confident ... knowing the supervisors and those that manage these crews that the crew was seat-belted, which I’m sure was very helpful.”
Fennessy praised the work of paramedics who responded to the scene and acted professionally despite caring for colleagues who were “gravely injured on the freeway.”
The chief said both OCFA hand crews have been pulled off the Airport Fire lines, with crews from other agencies taking their place.
“We’re all still in a bit of shock,” Fennessy said. “As I talked with the crews last night, it was evident that they’re in tough shape right now. We pulled them off the fire line. They’re going to get time with family. They’re going to get time to visit with other firefighters. They’re going to get the time they need.”
Fennessy had no specifics about the ages or experience level of the injured firefighters, but he noted that being a member of a hand crew is “the most challenging assignment that anybody can be assigned to,” noting that the crews have “been working nonstop with very few breaks in helping to contain the Airport Fire,” which broke out Sept. 9.
“Generally hand crew firefighters are younger in age,” he said. “It’s very arduous work. You’re not going to see somebody my age, probably, on a hand crew. It is a job that requires a crew to be extremely physically fit. They’re exposed to extraordinary temperatures, conditions. They train very, very hard.”
