TWO VIRGINIA FIREFIGHTERS INJURED ON INTERSTATE-81

After a pick-up truck seriously injured two firefighters Saturday on Interstate 81, emergency officials are asking motorists to keep an eye out for those who take risks to help others. "The biggest thing citizens can do when they see an accident is pay attention to what’s going on, slow down and think of the fact that we have people working," said Lt. Jeremy Holloway of Rockingham County Fire and Rescue. "It’s a very dangerous place for us to be."

Although rescue workers train for roadside safety, they’re also dependent on the drivers who pass them. On Saturday, two volunteer firefighters with Hose Co. No. 4 — Bryan Smith and Kristen Furlough — were flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center after a Ford F-150 pickup crashed into them as they worked another crash.

State police are still investigating the wreck, which occurred around 6 a.m. on wet pavement on I-81. On Monday, Smith’s condition went from serious to critical, according to a hospital spokesman. Furlough’s condition improved from fair to good.

A Nationwide Concern

Although unusual for this area, statistics show that similar incidents across the country injure and sometimes kill emergency workers, according to Holloway.

Nationwide, 96 firefighters or emergency medical workers were hit by oncoming traffic while working on roads between 2000 and 2002, according to statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration. Of those 96, 32 died, according to the statistics.

Although Saturday’s wreck was the first serious injury to emergency workers on roads that Holloway remembered, safety, especially on major roads like I-81 and U.S. 33 has always been a concern. "One of the problems we have is that people are just not paying attention," he said. "People see a wreck and they’re not paying attention to the road."