A San Diego Fire-Rescue Department captain — one of three firefighters hurt in a crash early Sunday while going with a 48-member team to assist in hurricane relief — was released from a Louisiana hospital on Tuesday, officials said.
Capt. Greg Davies was injured in the crash on Interstate 20 in East Texas when the Ford F-350 he was riding in, a Fire-Rescue vehicle, was involved in a collision with a civilian vehicle. They were heading to North Carolina as part of Urban Search & Rescue California Task Force 8.
The other two who were hurt and remain hospitalized are Battalion Chief Aide Barbat and Capt. Jesse Schultz. The families have requested privacy and asked that no medical information be shared with the media at this time, a department spokesperson said.
The three were life-flighted to a hospital in Shreveport, La., following the crash, which occurred around 2:45 a.m. in East Texas. The rest of the team has been staying in hotels in the area since the crash.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Robert Logan talks with members of a 48-member team that was heading to North Carolina to assist in hurricane rescues when one of the fire department’s vehicles was involved in a crash. Three team members were hospitalized Sunday. (San Diego Fire-Rescue Department)
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On Sunday, Assistant Fire Chief Jim Gaboury told reporters the three were reported in “various conditions ranging from moderate to critical.”
Davies joined the fire department in 2009 and has been a member of California Task Force 8 since 2017. He is the planning team manager and was responsible for developing and implementing the task force’s tactical plans.
Details about what led up to the crash have not been released. The closest town to the crash site is Waskom, Texas.
The trio was traveling as part of a team that included firefighters from several agencies, emergency-room doctors, a structural engineer and a duty mechanic. They left Friday from San Diego to support rescue and relief efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Helene.
There were 18 vehicles that deployed with the team, which had planned to do water-rescue work and provide other assistance in Charlotte, N.C.
Officials said a decision would be made soon, in consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to determine if the remaining team members should return to San Diego or continue their mission.
The department sent chaplains, crisis response canines and employees who serve as peer support out to Louisiana and Texas after the crash to assist team members. Fire Chief Robert Logan also flew out and visited with firefighters in Louisiana and Texas.
The department said it also has chaplains and peer counselors in San Diego available to support department firefighters and employees in the aftermath of the crash.
The firefighters union said an account was set up to support the three injured firefighters that has raised more than $40,000. Funds donated will go to a nonprofit organization, Firefighter Aid, to be distributed to the families, according to a campaign website.
