San Diego firefighter injured in crash, released from hospital – NBC 7 San Diego

A San Diego firefighter who was seriously injured in a vehicle accident near the Texas-Louisiana border while on a weekend relief mission for those at risk from Hurricane Helene has been released from the hospital, officials said Tuesday.

According to SDFD, Capt. Greg Davies, who joined the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department in 2009, was able to leave the hospital. Davies has been a member of CA-TF8 since 2017 and leads the planning team.

Two other injured people – SDFD Battalion Chief Adjutant Barbat and Capt. Jesse Shultz – could have a long journey ahead of them. These two crew members are being treated at Shreveport LSU Hospital.

Three San Diego firefighters en route to North Carolina as part of the response to Hurricane Helene were injured in a vehicle accident. NBC7's Jeanette Quezada has the details.

The accident, which injured three fire department members, occurred around 12:45 a.m. Sunday near Interstate 20 and Highway 80 near the Texas-Louisiana border, according to a statement from the city of San Diego and SDFD. According to SDFD's Mónica Muñoz, San Diego firefighters were on I-20 when the accident occurred.

The San Diego firefighters involved in the crash were members of the department's Urban Search & Rescue California Task Force 8 and part of a 48-member team that traveled to North Carolina in an F-350 truck to assist with the relief effort. The three injured were a battalion chief and two captains.

They were flown by ambulance to Louisiana State University Hospital in Shreveport. All of their conditions after the crash ranged from moderate to critical.

The circumstances of the crash were not initially clear.

San Diego Fire-Rescue is sending resources to Louisiana to help those injured and other team members emotionally affected by the crash.

“We respond to earthquakes, floods, hurricanes – any type of natural disaster that overwhelms local resources,” Muñoz said.

Only the strongest among us answer the call of duty to help others.

“This task force responded to Katrina. She responded to 9/11. I have been aware of the recent Hurricanes Irma and Hurricane Harvey since I have been in this position,” Muñoz said.

Hurricane Helene made landfall more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from San Diego, but its effects are being felt in the local community. NBC 7's Kelvin Henry has the details.

The San Diego community is now rallying together to help the three injured firefighters.

“We were immediately able to airlift six peer support team members to the incident, as well as two chaplains from our chaplaincy program,” said David Hunt, SDFD cancer and health coordinator. “It's been proven that if you're able to have the support of your peers and do those debriefings or critical incident stress management after incidents like this or any other traumatic event, scientifically it gets processed in your mind and helps with that “To relieve this stress from your body.”

The other 45 members of the team also receive support services. According to Muñoz, they are at a hotel in Shreveport, Louisiana, and are still under a 72-hour detention status. She says the team likely won't continue to support hurricane relief efforts, but a final decision hasn't been made yet.

When asked if this incident will impact San Diego Fire-Rescue operations in San Diego, Muñoz said, “Fortunately, we have firefighter replenishment, so this 48-person team is made up of 32 members of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department existed. Therefore, the people who vacated their positions here to join this special team have been replaced by other firefighters.”

SDFD Chief Robert Logan and Deputy Chief Steve Lozano accompany the injured firefighters in their recovery process.