Six members of an Orange County Fire Authority hand crew remained hospitalized Friday, four of them still in critical condition, after a rollover crash on the 241 Freeway Thursday night, Sept. 19 that injured a total of 8 firefighters.
“We’ve got a tough road ahead,” OCFA Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said outside Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where two firefighters were being treated. “Many of the injured are going to be hospitalized for quite a while.”
Two firefighters who were treated at Hoag Hospital in Irvine were released Thursday night. Three others were taken to Mission Hospital and one was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, Fennessy said, adding that the firefighter at UCI was likely to be released at some point on Friday.
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The hand crew had just finished a 12-hour shift on the Airport fire and was traveling back to the command post in a transport truck when the crash occurred about 6:50 p.m. just north of the Portola Parkway exit on the northbound 241 Freeway, Fennessy said.
The California Highway Patrol was investigating the cause of the crash and said earlier Friday that the driver lost control for unknown reasons and hit a guard rail, causing the truck to overturn and land on its side. The CHP is continuing its investigation Friday.
Fennessy said the vehicle the firefighters were traveling in has individual seats and he believed all eight members inside the truck were wearing safety equipment.
“They did swerve for whatever (reason) and did roll over several times,” Fennessy said, adding that he had thoughts on what caused the crash, “but I don’t have any factual information.”
Authorities did not confirm Friday reports that the truck had swerved to avoid a ladder on the roadway.
Dr. Humberto Sauri of OC Global Medical Center said both firefighters being treated at the facility remained in the intensive care unit and described one as in “critical but stable” condition, while the other remained “quite critical still.”
Authorities did not comment further on the types of injuries suffered by the firefighters.
Fennessy said a superintendent in a heavy-duty pickup truck reported the crash to the department’s dispatch. He estimated at least six fire vehicles were traveling back to the command post at the time of the crash.
He described members of the hand crew as generally “younger in age.
“It’s very arduous work,” he added. “It’s a job that requires a crew to be extremely physically fit. They’re exposed to extraordinary temperatures and conditions. They train very, very hard.”
Fennessy said the firefighters’ families were immediately notified of their injuries and said he had spoken with the families. Further information about the firefighters was not available.
“We’re all still in a bit of shock,” the fire chief said. “As I talked with the crews last night, it was evident that they’re in rough shape right now.”
OCFA has two hand crews, Fennessy said. Both were pulled off the fire line, with hand crews from Ventura County and Los Angeles County coming in to take over while the OCFA crews get time with family and to visit other firefighters.
“They are going to get the time they need,” Fennessy said.
The Airport fire broke out Sept. 9 and has been burning in Orange County’s canyon areas and into Riverside County. Fennessy said it was 51% contained as of Friday.
