BETHESDA, Md. -- A Montgomery County, Maryland firefighter is in a local hospital after being hit by a car at the scene of an apartment fire Monday night. The injured firefighter was the driver of the first arriving fire engine to the call at 10320 Westlake Drive in Bethesda around 7:30 PM. The 47-year-old firefighter is a veteran of the department assigned to Station 26 in Bethesda.
According to Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service Assistant Chief Scott Graham, the firefighter, wearing a reflective vest, was dragging a hose line across the street to a hydrant, when a car lurched forward. The firefighter ended up on the hood of that vehicle.
The firefighter has serious, but non-life-threatening trauma. She is being treated for orthopedic injuries.
According to Graham, the firefighter had actually made contact with the driver before being struck. The firefighter told the man to wait until she moved a coupling out his way. Graham said her intention was to allow the driver to move his car before the line was filled with water.
Sources indicate the driver of the car is elderly and may have confused the brake with the accelerator. Police have filed charges against the man.
The fire was behind a wall and generated a lot of smoke on the fourth floor of the apartment building. There were no other injuries.
Republished with permission of WUSA-TV.
