Two Arizona Firefighters Injured After Engine Rolls
Phoenix, AZ (8/15/18) - Two Arizona firefighters are recovering today after they were involved in a single-vehicle accident on the way home from their fire assignment in California.
On Monday, August 13th, the two firefighters, from Elephant Head Volunteer Fire Department, were headed back to Arizona from the Carr Fire when their engine blew a tire and rolled along U.S. Highway 95 outside of Hawthorne, Nevada.
The men had to be extricated from the engine and then airlifted to a Nevada hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Both have since been released. The two firefighters were the only ones on the engine at the time of the accident.
The Department of Forestry and Fire Management is working with the Nevada Highway Patrol and sent a safety investigation team to Nevada.
“Considering the seriousness of the accident, we are very lucky these men were able to be released from the hospital so quickly. As firefighters, we are always on the road, and driving is one of the most dangerous parts of our jobs. We cannot stress driver safety enough. Thankfully, these men will both make full recoveries,” said State Forester Jeff Whitney.
Nearly 400 Arizona firefighters are working on fires across the west. The majority are assigned to fires in California.
For more information, contact Tiffany Davila at 602-540-1036 or by email at [email protected]
