Arvada Fire Department Honors CU Hospital For Saving 2 Firefighters
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - The Arvada Fire Department recognized the University of Colorado Hospital's burn unit staff for helping save two firefighters on Monday.
The two firefighters were sent into a long recovery.
On April 3 at 4:30 a.m. firefighters Chris Paine and Kevin Jacovetta arrived at a raging house fire. The two went to the house next door, which wasn't burning at the time, to see if anyone was inside when high winds suddenly and unexpectedly blew a firestorm right at them.
"It was like sitting right in the middle of a blast oven. I had never seen that much fire coming at me at one time. It was totally unreal. It looked like a movie, it looked Hollywood," Jacovetta said.
"I got disoriented and lost," Paine said.
The fire was so intense it melted both firefighter's radios and they couldn't call for help. They only had each other to rely on.
For Paine, who had been hired just a month earlier, it was his first fire. Jacovetta is a veteran with two decades of experience. Jacovetta ended up saving the rookie's life.
"He started screaming my name. He was screaming that he was getting burned," Jacovetta said. "My facemask had melted. I had no visibility so I was doing everything by feel."
"I just thought, 'If nobody finds me in the next couple of minutes, it's going to be the end,' " Paine said.
"I found him pretty quick. I knew where the front door was; I knew where I was," Jacovetta said. "If I could get him to the front door we could get out. So literally I just grabbed him and threw him down the stairs."
Both firefighters underwent two skin graph surgeries. They now have to wear special clothing to help the scar tissue grow back more smoothly.
"Without that university and their facility, we wouldn't be here," Jacovetta said.
Both firefighters suffered second- and third-degree burns and have been able to return to work full time.
