KANSAS CITY, Mo. --
Suzie and Chris Joiner thought they were coming to Fire Station No. 17 for a retirement party. Instead they were surprised with a big wad of cash and named Tvedten Angels for 2009.
Chris Joiner is a fire captain who was badly burned in an Oct. 18 fire at 30th Street and Highland Avenue.
"We had a two-story apartment building. I got trapped trying to come through a wall," Joiner said. "I burned 30 percent of my body. I have second- and third-degree burns."
Joiner has not been able to return to work, and he may have two or three months of rehab ahead of him.
Joiner said he probably would have died were it not for coworkers, who discovered him missing and went back in the burning building to bring him out.
"I sometimes take these guys for granted. I've always thought, 'Oh, nothing's ever going to happen to him. He's got a good crew. He's in great physical shape and knows what he's doing,'" wife Suzie Joiner said.
"These guys are heroes here," Chris Joiner said.
The Tvedten Angel award was started by the late Larry Stewart, Kansas City's original Secret Santa. It is given to honor the memory of Battalion Chief John Tvedten who died in a warehouse fire 10 years ago.
KMBC's Bev Chapman reported that Tvedten would never have called himself a hero, but yet he worked tirelessly to see the department improve its radio system and improve the safety of his fellow firefighters.
An anonymous donor supports the Tvedten Angel award.
(The award is) a big surprise and we appreciate it," Chris Joiner said.
Injured Fire Captain Gets Christmas Surprise
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