Firefighter in Coma After Truck Crash Injured 7 Others on California Highway

Mar. 15, 2025

Eight firefighters were injured in a crash in California. One of them is in a coma, fighting for his life.

The firefighters — who were members of theOrange County Professional Firefighters Association, Local 3631’s Handcrew— were returning to the incident command post after assisting with the fire on Thursday, Sept. 19, when their truck overturned northbound State Route 241 at about 6:50 p.m.

scene of incident.gofundme

gofundme

“Crews will frequently be called on for 24-hour coverage during high fire danger days and may be gone in excess of 14 days at a time on fire assignments in and out of [the] county,” the website states.

Fennessy said the handcrew had just finished a 12-hour shift when the “solo rollover accident” occurred.

According to the chief, two of the eight firefighters were taken to local hospitals and released that night, and six were taken to local trauma centers in “stable to critical” conditions.

stock image of ambulance.Getty

Getty

While the incident remains under investigation, friends and family identified one of the injured firefighters as Matthew Nichols.

According to the fundraiser, Nichols is a father to a 6-month-old son named Theodore.

fundraiser photo.OC Firefighters/Facebook

OC Firefighters/Facebook

“Matthew has always been a protector, both for his family and his community. Now, it’s our turn to support him and his loved ones,” the campaign states, noting that donations are “to help ease the financial burden on Carissa.”

On Tuesday, Sept. 24, the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, Local 3631, also shared alinkonFacebookto the Fallen Fire Fighter Relief Fund which offers “financial assistance to professional firefighters, firefighters’ families and charity organizations throughout the State of California.”

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In addition, the organization also created a separate GoFundMecampaignto raise funds for the eight injured firefighters. As of this writing, the fundraiser has raised over $312,000.

source: people.com