Firefighters work together to rescue colleague from fire engine wreckage

A Wiggins firefighter was put into a scary situation over the weekend while traveling on Highway 26 heading towards an accident to offer assistance. Well, she didn’t arrive. Instead, firefighters responded to the fire engine turned over in the middle of the road, with her beneath it.

Fire Chief Steven Purvis was the first on scene. He tells us what he saw when he arrived.

“There were some good Samaritans, bystanders, that witnessed the accident that were helping the firefighter and were trying to keep her calm, take care of her,” Purvis said. “She was trapped under the vehicle, but she was calm. We were trying not to overreact, even though she was in a tough situation.”

The firefighter has requested we don’t share her name. Her colleagues had to use the jaws of life to free her and she was then life-flighted to the hospital. 

“She was discharged from the hospital,” he said. “She’s still having some issues, but hopefully on the mend. Nothing serious as of right now. Some broken bones in her foot but nothing super major.”

Purvis tells us there’s one big thing he believes kept her alive.

“One thing I’m grateful for – my firefighter, she was wearing her seatbelt. That’s more than likely the only thing that kept her from being hurt worse than she was.”

The station will be borrowing a fire engine from the county while they wait for a replacement.