Fire truck crashes in Upstate, firefighter hospitalized

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — A Trinity Firefighter is in the hospital with severe injuries after a collision with a semi Thursday afternoon.

The Trinity Fire Department was responding to an emergency call when one of their fire trucks collided with an 18-wheeler near I-26.

Trinity Fire Chief, Cody McCarley said firefighter Bailey Williamson was hurt and airlifted to the hospital after the crash.

“He was obviously injured in the accident yesterday, he was in the hospital overnight, he is still currently there, we’ve been with him this morning he is in good spirits and he has a long road of recovery,” McCarley said.

McCarley added Williamson has some broken bones and severe injuries to his lower extremities.

“Our department responds to emergencies every day of the week, so it is very challenging when we respond to an incident involving one of our people. So, as a department we come together, we are obviously spending a lot of time together, spending time with Bailey and we are holding up pretty well,” McCarley said Williamson is also surrounded by his family, “His family is with him, he has several small children and he also has a baby on the way.”

McCarley said while Williamson is recovering, his absence from the department will be noticed.

“He is one of our more senior firefighters, he has worked for several different counties that surround us and other departments. So, he brings value and knowledge to the fire department. He has been doing this several years, has plenty of experience, we just wish him well and we are ready to have him back to work.”

McCarley said that during this challenging time, other fire departments are lending a helping hand, “we had six fire stations, yesterday during the incident, several in-county departments moved down to cover our area, we are obviously out of service with one of our trucks being in an accident… and so other units within the county came into cover last night and then for 24 todays there are units from both Clinton Fire Department and Clear Springs from Greenville County covering two of our fire stations.

A spokesperson from Spartanburg County reported that their driver was not cited in the accident and it is under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The state’s Firefighter association is providing counseling to those impacted by Thurday’s accident.

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