Atlanta Firefighter Talks About Brush With Death

A hose man for Engine 10, Dean was fighting a ravenous fire.

Nov. 26, 2005

2 min read

Atlanta firefighter Logan Dean had a decision to make: To live or to die.

He decided to live.

Dean, recovering from first, second and third-degree burns at Grady Memorial Hospital, talked about his brush with death, when he was trapped under the debris of a burning apartment building.

"It sure felt like a truck fell on me," he said. "It was very much like a dream-like environment until i got in the ambulance and the pain started hitting me."

A hose man for Engine 10, Dean was fighting a ravenous fire that tore through the Village of Bedford Pines apartments Wednesday in Northeast Atlanta. When flames reached the attic and began to invade a second building, Dean and the rest of his company pulled out. But a huge piece of roof broke off and hit Dean, knocking off his helmet and pinning him to the ground.

"I started to panic a little bit when I realized that I was pinned and couldn't move," he said

Dean said that he debated whether to stay there and hope for a quick end to his life or fight to survive. He opted for the latter.

"I did my best not to breathe knowing you could breathe that super-heated gas and cause a lot of damage in your airway," he said. "I managed to grab a wrought iron fence and pull myself up out of the debris."

Dean's fellow firefighters ripped off his protective gear and rushed him to Grady. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery with no permanent scarring.

Dean said that the wounds on his face and hands look worse than they really are, and that he's ready to get back to work as soon as he can.

"I mean obviously our job is very dangerous," he said. "However, I guess statistically I've got more of chance of being hurt in an automobile accident than i do on the job."