A volunteer firefighter from Monroe was hit by a car early Saturday morning at the site of a vehicle accident, but he escaped serious injury.
Monroe firefighters went to a noninjury wreck at 12:30 a.m. in the 10400 block of Trombley Road. Two fire engines, a medic unit, a command rig and a sheriff’s patrol car responded, Battalion Chief Leroy Schwartz said.
The injured firefighter, 30, was dressed in full firefighting gear, including a helmet. He was walking just outside the fog line at the time, Schwartz said.
"One of my firefighters was putting flares on the corner when we heard squealing tires and saw a second car come through the scene," Schwartz said. "My firefighter had a lighted (flare) in his hand. He jumped at the last second, and the car raised him up, spun him in the air and he crashed to the ground."
The firefighter was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Doctors said he had a bruised back. He was scheduled to remain in the hospital until today as a precaution, Schwartz said.
The vehicle that hit the firefighter continued off the road and struck a tree. The driver was not injured, but sheriff’s deputies arrested him for investigation of vehicular assault.
"My firefighter’s a big man, and he was just really, really lucky," Schwartz said.
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