BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — Polk County Fire Rescue said their battalion chief was involved in a crash that sent five people to the hospital on Sunday.
The chief was responding to an emergency call with lights and sirens activated when the crash happened at the intersection of County Road 640 and Mimosa Avenue in Bartow.
PCFR said a “mass casualty incident” response was triggered due to the number of victims, including at least one with critical injuries. A photo from the scene shows that the front and rear airbags were deployed and the front door was almost entirely ripped off.
The crash happened at around 10:40 a.m., and there was a large law enforcement presence in the area as they worked to treat the victims and arrange transport to the hospital.
All of the victims were from the minivan, and the battalion chief was not injured, PCFR said.
No other information was released about the circumstances of the crash or the condition of the victims.

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