LA Firefighter Visits Station for First Time Since Injury
A Louisiana firefighter who was badly burned fighting a condominium fire earlier this year visited his colleagues for the first time since he was injured.
Jefferson Parish firefighter Danny Zeigler stopped by the fire station Monday to thank his co-workers for their help during his recovery, WWL-TV reports. He suffered second- and third-degree burns to his face, neck, hands and backs when he fell through the roof of a condo that had caught fire Feb. 2 in the Old Metairie complex.
Along with his burns, Zeigler, 49, also suffered breathing-related injuries and battled pneumonia and a MRSA bacterial infection.
"It feels wonderful. I didn't expect it," he told WWL about the visit. "When I came out of my coma, the first thing I said to my brother was that I have a lot of bills to take care of. Everyone's been so great, the burn unit's been awesome, all the fireman, the parish president, they all really stepped up."
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The station visit this week is another step along Zeigler's long recovery. Doctors released him from the hospital nearly two weeks ago, and his fellow firefighters hope he'll be back full time with the department.
"We're looking forward to the day when he's in uniform, and he's got his gear on, and we'll put him back to work," Jefferson Parish Fire Chief Dave Tibbets told WWL.