Georgia Firefighter Involved In Serious Accident; Firetruck Flips Over Then Hits Tree

You call police and fire and EMS for help. So what happens when they need help? It was an odd situation yesterday as the Hinesville Fire Department answered the call from one of its own on Reuben Wells Road just west of the city.

The fire department normally arrives on accident scenes after the fact, and those firefighters aren't used to being part of the accident scene.

Firefighter Marta Cueves was responding to a fire call Thursday when a dog ran in front of her fire truck. "I didn't know even know how many times it flipped, all I know is it was flipping," she told us.

All of a sudden, she became the emergency. "It's sort of tough to handle for the firefighters when one of their own is hurt," said Chief Lamar Cook.

Cueves rolled a Hinesville fire truck two times before coming to rest against a tree. Despite totaling the pumper truck, flattening its roof and making a huge mess, she escaped without any major injuries.

"I didn't know how bad the vehicle was because I was inside," she said. "But when I seen the pictures when I got out of the hospital, I was like, 'It really is a miracle I made it out of there.'"

Other firefighters had a tough time dealing with this particular accident at first, but their chief says they handled it as well as could be expected. "At first, whenever you have one of your own that's injured, the adrenaline rushes, and everyone wants to get in there and help."

Chief Cook says he's not too worried about rushing Cueves back into action, even if she is.

"They couldn't remove my jacket because I was jammed up against the seat, and the assistant chief told him to cut it," Cueves told us. "And I said, 'No, don't cut my gear, I have to go to the next fire.' And he's like, 'Cut that gear. Cut that gear.'"

"She did want to return to duty tonight, but the doctors wouldn't allow her to," said Chief Cook.

The City of Hinesville had insurance, which means they should get a brand new $250,000 truck in the near future. Marta Cuevas should be back in action within a week or so. She says she hopes they let her behind the wheel again.