Eight Firefighters Injured In Rollover Crash While Returning From Wildfire

Eight firefighters were injured, six of them seriously, when their fire truck overturned on State Route 241 near Irvine, California, on Thursday (September 19) evening. The firefighters, part of the Orange County Fire Authority's Santiago hand crew, were returning from battling the Airport fire. The accident occurred around 6:50 p.m. local time when the fire truck swerved to avoid a ladder on the freeway and collided with a guard rail, causing the vehicle to flip over.

The injured firefighters were evacuated by helicopters and ambulances to four different hospitals. Two of the firefighters are in stable condition, while the other six were taken to trauma centers , according to Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessey. The firefighters had just completed a 12-hour shift fighting the wildfire.