A Delaware firefighter who was seriously injured while battling a house fire a little more than a week ago continues to recover and is already eyeing a return to duty.
Minquas Fire Company Capt. David Smiley Jr., 23, suffered second- and third-degree burns over about 10 percent of his body when the floor collapse, and he fell through the floor during the blaze March 14 in Milltown. A mayday call went out, and he was pulled from the burning 100-year-old home by his fellow firefighters.
"I asked the paramedic (who was at the scene) questions, 'Is he talking?' They said, 'Yes.' 'Is he walking?' They said, 'Yes.' To me, those are two big pluses," Smiley's father, David Sr., told WCAU-TV.
David Smiley Jr. has been recuperating in the burn unit at the Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Pennsylvania since the fire. His firefighting colleagues have visited him while he's been at the hospital, including former Wilmington firefighter Brad Speakman, who was burned over 30 percent of his body in the Canby Park blaze that killed three firefighters in 2016, according to the TV station.
Although Smiley's recovery will require more skin grafts, surgeries and physical therapy, he still hopes to be working as a firefighter again, according to his father, who also is a firefighter and paramedic. In fact, David Sr. was able to recover the shield of his son's helmet from the scene of the house fire with the idea that he'll still have a use for it.
"If you know David, he's going to get better, and he will be back fighting fires," Smiley's dad told WCAU. "There's no doubt about it in my mind, whatsoever."
