Firefighter seriously injured in crash expected to make full recovery, says fire chief
The Centre Wellington Fire Department told CTV News the firefighter who was seriously injured in Tuesday's crash in Wellington County is expected to make a full recovery.
In a statement to CTV News, Centre Wellington fire chief Tom Mulvey said the firefighter has returned home, after being released from a Hamilton hospital, and is expected to fully recover from his injuries.
Mulvey said the firefighter has 40 years of service. His colleagues sprang into action to rescue him, using skills they practice all the time.
“There’s cares, vans, we’ve even used school buses, but very rarely do you ever cut apart a fire truck,” Mulvey said. “It was a challenging extrication, but the firefighters did an incredible job.”
The firefighter’s injuries include broken ribs and lacerations.
“We’re extremely happy he’s going to recover,” Mulvey said. “He’s going to come back to full duty.”
He said the seat belts and safety features in the truck made a difference, as did cooperation of police, public works, paramedics and firefighters.
“We consider ourselves family,” Mulvey said. “When you have to jump into action and save one of your own, it’s a game changer.”
On Tuesday, Mulvey said the truck went off the road and rolled onto its side. Four firefighters were in the truck at the time of the crash. He added that one firefighter was trapped and had to be removed. They were airlifted to hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries to their legs and some cuts on their face.
Ornge Air Ambulance responded to the crash. A spokesperson said they transported a patient to Hamilton General Hospital.
Mulvey added the truck was responding to a call at a building that came in around 9:30 a.m. That called turned out to be a false alarm.
"While responding to that call, the fire truck met some bad road conditions and went into a ditch on its side," he said.
Mulvey said the fire department has teams at the station to talk to anyone involved and make sure they're OK.
"It's terrible. It's not easy to respond to any of these calls, but when it's your firefighters and you have to cut a friend out of a vehicle, it makes it very difficult," he said. "The firefighters did an incredible job."
Side Road 10 was closed near Wellington Road 7 for the investigation.
The OPP said paramedics were at the scene to assist the injured firefighter.
The Ministry of Labour and OPP are both investigating to determine what happened. They will assess the vehicle before it is removed from the ditch, Mulvey said.
He added several other fire departments have reached out to offer vehicles and equipment to make sure they can continue to provide service to their area.
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