SEATTLE — The firefighter severely injured in an eastern Washington wildfire flare-up that killed three of his comrades left the hospital Wednesday after three months of treatment.
Daniel Lyon, 25, spoke to reporters for the first time Wednesday before going home.
“Feeling the fresh air … It’s something you take for granted," he said at Harborview Medical Center.
Lyon also said he's forever grateful to the firefighters and police officers who helped him.
“I've never seen so many gracious people in my life,” Lyon said, sitting next to his parents and one of his doctors.
Lyon suffered burns on more than 60 percent of his body on Aug. 19 and came to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. Since then he had 11 burn surgeries. He continues to heal and recover, but doctors now expect him to make a full recovery.
He said the mental part of his recovery is most difficult, and simple things such as smelling burnt toast can trigger bad memories.
"It's something you can't get out your mind," Lyon said of the accident day.
Tom Zbyszewski, 20, Andrew Zajac, 26, and 31-year-old Richard Wheeler died in the same flare-up near Twisp after their engine crashed down an embankment and was caught by the quickly moving fire.
KIRO
