Ciara Linman, 8, talks with firefighter Trevor Whitehead during a tribute to firefighters Saturday at the Arbors assisted living facility in Rancho Penasquitos. Ciara is the daughter of CalFire firefighter Brooke Linman, who was seriously injured in last year's wildfires. (Bill Wechter / Staff photographer)
Bloom said that when the time came to select a worthy cause to support, several residents of the Arbors recalled that fellow resident Leona Daily had a granddaughter who was burned while battling last year's fires.
Her granddaughter, Linman, has been a firefighter since 2001 and was assigned to the CalFire Rincon station.
It was Linman's usual day off, but she was filling in for a co-worker the day the fires began.
Her crew had been fighting the fire at the southern end of San Diego County for about two hours, trying to keep the flames away from homes in Potrero.
They came across a father and son who were trying to get to their home to see if it was still standing but got trapped by the fire.
With no route for escape, the crew took the two with them and headed toward the home.
Linman recalled that the winds changed suddenly and flames engulfed their fire engine, setting it on fire.
Everyone was forced to leave the burning vehicle and run through a blazing wall of flames.
Linman described it as going from pitch black with the sound of a speeding freight train in the background to blue clear skies and silence.
"It was like night and day," she said.
But her ordeal wasn't over. She quickly went from being happy to be alive to dealing with the pain that nearly sent her into shock.
"I was worried about my injuries," Linman said, "when suddenly I heard the sound of the teenager screaming in agony, which snapped me out of it, and I realized that now I had a patient. I went back into work mode and was able to take care of him."
Her own injuries were so severe that she had to be placed in an induced coma for three weeks.
Linman said she still gets a little uncomfortable when people call her a hero.
"It's humbling," she said. "I'm honored, but it's still hard to imagine."
Linman said she credits the Burn Institute for playing a key role in her recovery and for helping to support her family through the entire ordeal.
James Floros, executive director of the Burn Institute, said that when someone is severely injured, it's not something that they are going to wake up from and be healed.
Aside from the physical scars, he said, there are emotional scars that are going to last a lifetime.
"When patients are discharged, that's when a lot of the work begins," he said. "We're a totally nonprofit, so the money we take in on Monday is spent on Thursday. Without the support of the community groups, we don't exist."
The Arbors is a 91-unit assisted living facility that specializes in care for seniors with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
Bloom said the residents do something every month to benefit the surrounding neighborhood.
"We reach out to the community, but most of the time the community is reaching out to us," he said.
"When you get to this part of your life, getting out and about is obviously very limited. So bringing the community in is what our residents really appreciate. It makes them feel alive and well again."
Firefighter Brooke Linman and daughter Mira Mesa.Source: http://www.northcountytimes.com
Related post: http://calfire.blogspot.com/2007/11/news-burned-san-diego-firefighter.html
This beautiful young gal was burned on on the Harris Fire, was never able to work as a firefighter again, please share in her recovery journey, in a new documentary "Trial by Fire"
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