ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — Three firefighters were injured during a West Rowan structure fire and a China Grove fire engine was heavily damaged in a separate crash on Interstate 85 during a difficult 24-hour period for emergency responders across Rowan County.
The structure fire left a family without a home and brought a response from multiple agencies, including mutual aid departments from outside Rowan County.
During firefighting operations, a Mayday was transmitted after a wall collapsed on a firefighter. The Mayday was quickly canceled after crews reached the firefighter.
Three firefighters were injured during separate aspects of the fire and were transported for medical evaluation. One firefighter was injured when the wall collapsed on him. None of the three firefighters suffered life-threatening injuries.
One of the injured firefighters was a member of a mutual aid department that had responded to assist crews in Rowan County.
In a separate incident on Interstate 85, a China Grove fire engine was struck while firefighters were working at the scene of a motor vehicle collision.
The fire engine sustained significant damage. Emergency officials said personnel were safe following the collision.
The apparatus had been positioned between approaching traffic and emergency personnel working at the original crash scene. Officials said the placement of the engine helped protect responders working ahead of it when the apparatus was struck.
The incidents came during what emergency officials described as an unusually difficult 24-hour period for Rowan County’s emergency response community.
Officials also referenced multiple deaths or fatal incidents across the county during the same period, although details surrounding those incidents were not released in the statement.
Emergency officials said responders had faced a series of difficult calls with little time between incidents.
The agency asked residents to support firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, telecommunicators, law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel following the series of incidents.
“Behind every uniform is a person,” the agency wrote, noting that responders often continue answering calls while processing what they have experienced during previous emergencies.
