After months of recovery in a hospital and at home, 21-year-old volunteer firefighter Kevin O’Toole will be recognized by U.S. Rep. Donna F. Edwards on Tuesday for his actions at a house fire in which he was severely injured. O’Toole and six other Prince George’s firefighters were caught in what Prince George’s fire department spokesman Mark E. Brady described as a “fireball.” The firefighters were battling the blaze of a vacant single-family home in Riverdale around 9 p.m. Feb. 25. The firefighters reportedly had just stepped indoors when a 40-mph fire-bearing wind rushed up from the basement and engulfed them. Arson was determined as the cause of the fire.
“The flash fire, like a blowtorch, just blew up the steps and out of the front door,” Fire Chief Marc Bashoor told The Washington Examiner directly following the incident.
Edwards said she was keeping herself updated on the status of the firefighters and was waiting for all to be released from the hospital before meeting with them and recognizing them for their actions. O’Toole the last of the seven to be released.
“We were very impressed by that, and it makes us feel good to know the leadership in Washington D.C. follows local events,” said Brady.
O’Toole suffered second- and third-degree burns over about 50 percent of his body and was released from the MedStar Washington Hospital Center on April 20. O’Toole said he had to undergo 10 separate surgeries, multiple skin grafts and extensive rehabilitation to his arms, legs and hands.
“It’s a great accomplishment to be walking out of here in two months,” O’Toole said directly after his release. “Every day is a good day from now on.”
Throughout his recovery, O’Toole was visited by the six other firefighters involved in the Riverdale fire, as well as other firefighters from around the Washington area.
“There’s a fraternity of firefighters, that once you get burned you automatically become a part of that community,” Brady said. “There was constant companionship.”
