PARKSIDE, Penn. The medical conditions of two Parkside firefighters injured in a Saturday house fire have not been upgraded, but Dan Brees and Chase Frost are well enough to ask about one another's condition while recovering in the burn treatment unit at Crozer-Chester Medical Center.
"They are a couple of beds away from each other," Thomas Cubler of the Parkside Fire Co. said Monday night. "I saw Chase the other afternoon and he was asking about Danny and I'll be seeing Danny soon and I'm sure it will be the same thing.
"It's encouraging but it's also a Catch-22. They both have breathing tubes and they're trying, maybe too hard, to communicate verbally with visitors."
Frost, 21, and Brees, 20, were trapped when the second floor of a burning home collapsed on them early Saturday morning at the Village at Green Tree complex on Park Valley Lane.
Though much improved, both remained in critical, but stable, condition Monday night.
"Both of the boys have experienced periods of being alert and responsive and periods where they're sedated to help them heal," Cubler said.
Frost experienced burns on 50 percent of his body and faces a long period of rehabilitation. Brees was burned on 5 percent of his body and suffered respiratory injuries from breathing hot air. Infection is a major concern for both men.
"I talked directly with his surgeon and he said Chase had third-degree burns," said Tyler Sewell, Frost's best friend and former housemate in Texas, where he lived before moving to Pennsylvania to attend Widener University. "He also has first-degree burns on smaller areas of his back. As far as his face and everything, there was nothing to report on that."
Sewell, who served in the Eagle Mountain Fire Department with Frost, has gotten regular reports from Crozer-Chester Medical Center from Frost's fiancee.
"She seems to think it's mostly steam burns," Sewell said. "He's not exactly charred, but very pink and very red burns with full thickness. I've been in the medical field long enough to know to know that anyone with burns on half their body has a long road ahead with skin grafts and rehabilitation.
"But Chase is one of the strongest people you will ever meet and he's the only person in this type of situation who I absolutely know will get through everything."
From blood donations to get-well cards to cash contributions from visitors to the firehouse, Brees and Frost are receiving support from all comers and encouragement and prayers from family, friends and firefighters around the world.
"They have had to cut back on the visitors because the waiting area was getting packed," said Cubler. "As much as it helps these guys to have visitors, it can also be a little overwhelming."
The guest book on the Parkside Fire Co. Web site features dozens of notes like this one from a family in Dubai: "Chase, if someone reads this to you, you will pull through this horror. Our hearts, love, admirations (sic) and prayers go out to you. I know you have pulled yourself out of some awful situations and you can do it again. I know life can be so unfair at times, but you are a great survivor!!!!"
Another post came from Drexel Hill firefighter Kevin Rapp: "All of us at station 20 are pulling for Dan and Chase. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families, as well as the others injured in this tragic fire. To the members of station 45, you have all the support in the world. Stay strong!"
In addition, Eddystone Borough Council Monday night approved a $100 donation to the fund set up for Frost.
Councilwoman Despo Tatasciore noted that Frost was a paramedic with the Eddystone Fire Co. and still retains membership in that company.
Brees has been surrounded by family from the moment he was pulled from the fire. His oldest brother, Jim, is the assistant chief at Parkside. His brother Mike is the training officer. His sister-in-law Diane is an EMT and former EMS lieutenant, and sister-in-law Angela is the company's financial secretary. His father, Jim, is also a firefighter.
Frost's mother flew in from California over the weekend and is making the decisions about his care. His father arrived Monday, according to Cubler.
"I know he's getting overwhelming support from both departments," said Sewell. "We are trying to arrange it so someone (from Eagle Mountain) will be up there throughout the entire process of his recovery, which could take months and months.
"Chase is a very grateful person. Anything you do for him, he thinks it's the world."
Republished with permission of The DelcoTimes.
Related Stories
