SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KSHV) – Three San Diego firefighters traveling to help rescue efforts in North Carolina are recovering after they were seriously injured in a crash in East Texas.
In a press conference Sunday, Assistant Fire Chief of the San Diego Fire Rescue Department James Gaboury said an emergency vehicle with California Task Force 8 was involved in a crash with a non-emergency vehicle on I-20 near the border of Texas and Louisiana
All three task force members in the vehicle were injured in the crash and airlifted to Ochsner LSU Health Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana.
On Tuesday, the San Diego Fire Rescue Department shared that Capt. Greg Davies, one of the three firefighters injured in the crash, will be released from the hospital. Capt. Davies has been a member of Task Force 8 since 2009, implementing tactical plans and coordinating and overseeing planning activities.
Officials also released the names of the other two injured firefighters, Battalion Chief Aide Barbat and Capt. Jesse Shultz. Their families have requested privacy at this time.
Davies, Barbat, and Shultz are part of a group of 48 rescue and support crew members who set out to Charlotte, North Carolina, to assist with local resources following Hurricane Helene.
Helene left at least 133 people dead, with many more missing. Heavy floodwaters and landslides decimated towns and villages, and more than 1.5 million homes and businesses remained without power Tuesday morning. It’s estimated that between a prior rainstorm and Helene, more than 40 trillion gallons of rain drenched the Southeast over the last week.
Task Force 8 is one of many teams of first responders from across the country volunteering to help with rescue and recovery efforts.
In a statement on Facebook, the SDFD thanked the community for their support during this difficult time.
“These photos show the tremendous support offered to the team and families of the injured firefighters by SDFD chaplains and their canines and peer support team members,” the statement read. “They are under the leadership of the SDFD Health & Safety Office and have been in Shreveport since Sunday. There are also chaplains and peer support personnel supporting the rest of the department here in San Diego. It’s an amazing and much needed effort by some very dedicated people.”
-
Support offered to the team and families of the injured SDFD firefighters (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department) -
CA-TF8 members with a crisis response canine (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department) -
Capt. Greg Davies and crisis canine Kassie (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department) -
CA-TF8 member with a crisis response canine (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department) -
CA-TF8 member with a crisis response canine (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department) -
Crisis response K9 (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department) -
Crisis response K9 (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department) -
Crisis response K9s Kassie and Genoa (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department) -
Crisis response K9s Kassie and Genoa (Source: San Diego Fire-Rescue Department)
FirefighterAid set up a fund to support the firefighters and their families. All of the proceeds will go to help with their recovery and care needs. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fund has raised $46,000 of its $100,000 goal.
This is the first time members of the San Diego Fire Rescue Department have been involved in a serious crash, Gaboury said Sunday. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
He shared that it’s difficult when one of their own is injured, regardless of the circumstances.
“We are reaching out to all the members of the San Diego Fire Rescue Department, as well as the participating agencies to make sure that the other members of the department are taken care of,” Gaboury said.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the city’s prayers are with the injured firefighters and their loved ones. He also praised their bravery and service.
“It’s times like these that I ask San Diegans to remember the tremendous sacrifices that we ask of our first responders,” Gloria said. “These are individuals who will go toward danger while the rest of us step away. They put themselves in harm’s way to protect us. We appreciate them all the time, but particularly when tragedies like this happen.”
