1 incident becomes 2 as firefighters extinguish semi-truck fire on Highway 46
Sep. 20—Firefighters' work to extinguish the flames of a fully-engulfed semi-truck on Highway 46 Wednesday morning turned into something quite different when a van drove past traffic cones and emergency lights, hit a semi-trailer and careened into a parked Kern County Fire Department engine, the department reported.
It all unfolded at about 8:17 a.m. on the highway at Kecks Road. Firefighters found the semi driver wasn't hurt. They put out the semi fire, which had spread to a quarter acre of grass, KCFD said in a news release.
Just as the fire was being controlled, the van that careened into the fire engine became the issue. The incident commander verified all firefighters were safe and asked for a medevac helicopter.
Firefighters extricated two people from the van, which came to rest on its side, KCFD reported. A KCFD paramedic provided advanced care to one occupant with life-threatening injuries. One occupant was taken to a hospital by air ambulance while the other was taken by ground ambulance.
