Eight firefighters were injured, six of them seriously, when a fire truck overturned and crashed onto a California highway while returning from a shift battling a devastating wildfire.
Firefighters were returning to the fire station after a 12-hour shift in which they had fiercely battled a 23,000-person airport fire when the truck suddenly overturned on a highway in Irvine, California, at around 6:50 p.m. local time on Thursday.
Eight people were injured in the accident, one of whom was transported from the scene by helicopter.
Six of the eight victims in the accident suffered serious injuries and were taken to a local trauma center.
Kansas mother issues warning after dishwasher catches fire while family sleeps
clock:
Photos and videos from the scene showed the mangled fire truck on its side after the collision.
Authorities have not said what caused the accident, but it is still under investigation.
Six of the eight victims in the accident suffered serious injuries and were taken to a local trauma center. (OC Hawk)
Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said at a press conference Thursday night that the vehicle “was in disrepair for some reason.” [reason] And it rolled a few times. We have some ideas as to what caused it, but no factual information.”
Fennessy gave an update on the injured firefighters at a press conference Friday morning and said they have a “long road” to recovery ahead.
Cause of Houston pipeline explosion and fire identified, officials rule out terrorism
“Please pray for our firefighters and their families,” Fennessy said. “This is the beginning of a long journey for many of our firefighters and fire departments.”
Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said the cause of Thursday night's accident, in which eight firefighters were injured, remains under investigation. (KTTV)
Six firefighters injured in the incident remain in hospital in “stable to critical” condition, Fennessy said Friday morning.
“Many of the injured will remain hospitalized for quite some time,” he said, without providing details about those injured. Two other firefighters injured in the accident were treated and released from hospital Thursday evening.
“As you can imagine, our firefighters are heartbroken,” Fennessy said. “You can imagine how hard it is to see a fellow firefighter injured in the middle of the highway.”
The accident happened Thursday in the Portola Springs area, 10 miles east of Irvine, California. (OC Hawk)
A California fire chief said after the incident that the area is hurting but he's confident residents will “stand together.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
“This is a devastating event for me personally and for all of our firefighters here in Orange County,” Fennessy said, “We are heartbroken and devastated. However, I have no doubt that our firefighters, our firefighters, our professional staff, all involved will come together with one another and we will come out stronger from this.”
