A D.C. firefighter who was severely burned while battling a house fire in April is back at work.
Firefighter Chuck Ryan spoke to WJLA-TV after the incident and his recovery.
He was cleared by doctors on Tuesday and returned to work at a fire station in the southeast section of the city early Wednesday morning.
Ryan was a part of the crew from Rescue Squad 3 that was inside the burning house on 48th Place when a flashover occurred.
"It started getting hot and the smoke started changing," he told the news station. "My gear was on fire, everything, and my face piece started to melt. Just because you go inside of a burning structure doesn't always mean you are going to come out."
During the incident he was able to hold his face mask in place -- something that saved his life.
Forty percent of his body was covered in second and third degree burns and he faced months of recovery.
"From the moment I woke up in intensive care, all I was looking forward to was going back to work."
Ryan left the 49 days later and continued to recover at home with the help of his 15-year-old daughter Shelby, 21-year-old son T.J. and his wife, Kathy.
"My biggest thing about coming back is that I will get to the next chapter in my life."
The arsonist who caused the house fire that injured Ryan and four of his colleagues was sentenced earlier this year to 25 years in prison.
