4 Orange County firefighters remain hospitalized after crash while returning from airport fire

IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) — Four Orange County firefighters remain hospitalized Friday after a rollover crash on a freeway in Irvine.

The single-vehicle crash happened Thursday night when the hand truck hit a guardrail and overturned on State Route 241, authorities said. At the time, eight firefighters were returning from a 12-hour shift on the front lines of the massive airport blaze.

A vehicle in front of the fire truck swerved to avoid a ladder and the truck also swerved, hitting the guardrail on the right shoulder and rolling over several times, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Six firefighters were taken to trauma centers in conditions ranging from “stable to critical,” Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said at a news conference Friday.

“I’m not sure, but I’m sure, knowing the supervisors and those who manage these crews, that the crew was wearing their seat belts, which I’m sure was very helpful,” he said.

Two firefighters who were treated at Hoag Hospital in Irvine were released Thursday night and two others were released Friday night.

The other four firefighters remain hospitalized — two are at Mission Hospital and two are at Orange County Global Medical Center. Fennessy said they were “more seriously injured than the others,” calling the accident “devastating” and “a great tragedy for our family.”

“As you can imagine how traumatic it would be to see your fellow firefighters injured in the middle of the highway,” he said.

The crash happened on Highway 241 near the Tomato Springs toll plaza in the Irvine area shortly before 7 p.m. Those wildfire crews are made up of 20 firefighters. Fennessy said, “What I heard was the crew transport vehicle, you know, the crew buggy, as we call them, veered off course for some reason and rolled over a few times.”

“These are heavy vehicles,” he explained. “They’re very heavy. So it wouldn’t take much, at high speed, for them to roll over.”

While the crew transport vehicle is in motion, Fennessy said at least one crew member typically sits in the front, with the others in the back. The crash site is west of the airport fire, which has burned more than 23,000 acres since last week.

Firefighters have been working tirelessly to fight the airport fire since Sept. 9, Fennessy said. He said the fire crew was tasked with removing fuel from the fire’s path. The injured firefighters are younger members who typically attack wildfires on foot, using tools to clear brush.

Signage on the truck indicated it was an Orange County Fire Authority vehicle for Santiago’s manual crews.

The accident is still under investigation by the traffic police.

Meanwhile, the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association has launched an online relief fund to help raise money for firefighters.

“I ask everyone to pray for the firefighters, pray for the families,” Fennessy said.

ABC News contributed to this report.