A Maui County firefighter is hospitalized in critical condition after being swept into a storm drain while responding to flooded homes in Kihei on Friday afternoon.

The firefighter was caught in a 4-foot-wide storm drain and was carried by storm waters about 800 yards to where the drain emptied into the ocean, according to the county. Firefighters and emergency personnel were able to retrieve the firefighter from the shoreline.

The firefighter was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition and remains under the care of physicians, county spokeswoman Mahina Martin said just before 6:30 p.m.

Fire Chief Brad Ventura and Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. went to the hospital’s emergency room on Friday afternoon to offer support to firefighters and family members.

“We are focused on supporting the firefighter’s family and ask that our community join us in prayers for his recovery,” Martin said.

The incident will undergo a review by the department.