Firefighters save one of their own when Dorian pushes tree on truck, NC officials say
A firefighter was trapped when Hurricane Dorian pushed a tree onto his pickup truck, North Carolina officials say.
He was heading to the fire station in his own vehicle when the limbs crashed down Thursday, his fire department posted on Facebook.
The impact appeared to smash the windshield and flatten the top of the truck, according to photos from Northwoods Fire & Rescue in Lumberton.
The firefighter was stuck in the pickup when members of his own department helped him get to safety, the Facebook post said.
Nearby agencies also pitched in before the firefighter was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the post. His name wasn’t released, but the department later said one of its workers was recovering.
It all came as the department was responding to Hurricane Dorian, which was making its way up the North Carolina coast Thursday. The storm pummeled the eastern part of the state with strong wind and heavy rain.
Lumberton saw 3.73 inches of rain, 20 times the normal amount for Sept. 5, the National Weather Service says. The city is in Robeson County, about 35 miles southwest of Fayetteville.
Dorian on Friday made landfall on the Outer Banks and posed risks of rain and storm surge to northeastern parts of North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center reported.
