Rim Fire Burn Injury 2013

A Colorado fire department sends an engine and its crew to the Rim Fire in California. When an engine crew member returns home at the end of his 14-day assignment, the Engine Boss, Bill, requests that his brother, Tom, in Colorado, be dispatched to the Rim Fire to fill this vacancy. On Tom’s third day on the fire, while mopping-up, he steps into a stump hole full of hot ash. Tom’s left leg sinks up to his knee. He receives painful burn injuries. Within minutes, Tom is up on the road being treated by the Line Medic who initiates ALS care, including starting an IV. After 15 more minutes, Tom is transferred to a nearby helibase. According to the Local EMS authority protocol, Tom is flown in a medevac helicopter to the closest burn center, which is in Fresno, where he is assessed and treated by several medical personnel in the Emergency Room. Tom is initially diagnosed with a 5-6 percent Body Surface Area second degree burn of the left lower extremity.