Six firefighters injured in Southern California

They were all transported to hospitals

Updated 11:39 a.m. PDT June 8, 2022

The inmate firefighters who suffered burn injuries June 7 in Southern California were all in stable condition when the LA County Fire Department posted an update on Twitter at 3:11 p.m. PDT June 7, 2022.

“A flash fire occurred in the back of an inmate camp crew vehicle,” the tweet said. “Six patients were transported to hospitals w/mild to moderate burns & all are currently in stable condition. Incident is under investigation.”

From NBC4, at 8:30 p.m. June 7, 2022:

One inmate was treated for critical injuries at a burn center with burns covering over 12% of his body, but officials say he is expected to be ok. The other five inmates suffered minor injuries.

The inmate firefighters were in the back of a transport vehicle leaving a training exercise when the fire started, authorities say. Authorities confirm that the fire was not related to the training exercises they were performing and was not apart of any escape plan.

Inmate firefighters are not allowed to have an flammable materials in the back of the trucks which include cigarettes, lighters, and liquids. It is unclear what started the fire and officials are still investigating it.


2:57 p.m. PDT June 7, 2022

Firefighters injured, June 7, 2022
Firefighters injured, June 7, 2022. Still image from ABC7 video.

Six firefighters were injured near Castaic, California Tuesday morning. Not all the details are known but initial reports, which can change, is that they were taking part in a training exercise and had burn injuries.

Four were transported to hospitals in two helicopters and two went by ground ambulance.

All six patients were inmate firefighters from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson Geovanni Sanchez. Emergency crews responded shortly after 11 a.m. following reports of burned patients on Templin Highway near Castaic, said Esteban Benitez, another spokesman for the county.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

5 thoughts on “Six firefighters injured in Southern California”

  1. As Bill said, not all the details are known – and can change. I’ve been checking the news stations after hearing a different detail earlier, and others have picked up on it. Obviously more details can be expected, and I’m holding-off on judgement:

    “A flash fire occurred in the back of an inmate camp crew vehicle,” Fire Department officials said in a tweet hours after the incident. Battalion Chief Chad Sourbeer called the fire “spontaneous,” which he described as being “a little odd.” Additionally, one report said they were LEAVING the exercise when the firefighters were burned.

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  2. I’m betting that when they started the evolution the weather wasn’t too bad and by the time they got going things had gone down the toilet. With that said not a good time to be doing live fire – get some wind and everything nose dives.
    You’re correct Pedro, the inmate crews do a heck of a job and are under appreciated by those who have never had the chance to work with them

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  3. Not sure why Inmate crews get a bad rap in fire they’re some of the hardest working, high spirited people in fire. Hope these guys have a quick recovery.

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