Two firetrucks collide injuring eight firefighters in New Jersey

City officials were ‘praying’ for the recovery of eight firefighters seriously injured on their way to a blaze

Eight firefighters were seriously injured when two trucks collided while rushing to a fire in Paterson, New Jersey, on Saturday.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Broadway and Straight Street, sending one truck hurtling into a tree and the other into a supermarket.

The injured firefighters were rushed to St. Joseph’s University Medical Centre, Paterson Fire Chief Brian McDermott told NorthJersey.com.

The three most seriously injured were in a stable condition on Saturday night, Mr McDermott told the news site.

Two fire trucks collided while heading to a fire in Paterson. One went into a store and another crashed into a tree. 8 firefighters were hurt, 3 of them have critical injuries. @ABC7NY #abc7ny pic.twitter.com/CjDI7Q9Rli

— Janice Yu (@JaniceYuNews) September 11, 2022

At Hospital with the Bishop, Chaplain-Monsgr, Union President, Fire Chief, Mayor and other Firefighter’s praying for 8 who were injured earlier in a serious accident responding to the fire. Paterson’s Bravest are amazing individuals. Praying for their speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/35h0aouyYl

— Jerry Speziale (@JerrySpeziale) September 11, 2022

The crews had been on their way to a two-alarm fire at a Targets Closeout e-bikes store.

Paterson police department director Jerry Speziale tweeted that he was at the hospital with other city leaders on Saturday night “praying” for the injured officers.

“Paterson’s bravest are amazing individuals. Praying for their speedy recovery,” he wrote.

“We have eight firefighters who are injured, one who is pretty severely injured, so we ask that people pray for that individual to make a full and speedy recovery,” Mr Sayegh told CBS News.

Cellphone video obtained by CBS News showed the moment one firetruck crashed into the other at the intersection at high speed.