Instead of driving to safety, the registered nurse decided to turn around — back into the flames.
Pierce, who reportedly manages the ICU at Adventist Health Feather River Hospital, helped evacuate patients from the burning hospital as the massive Camp Fire drew near Thursday morning. Shortly after, he rounded up a few of his colleagues andattempted to drive them to safety, according toNew York Timesreporter Jack Nicas.
“Like many residents in Paradise, they quickly hit gridlock,” Nicas wrote of the group in a tweet on Monday. “But unfortunately for them, they were stuck in the middle of the fire. Flames licked at the side of his truck, and as Allyn watched other cars catch fire, he thought his was next.”
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They returned to the hospital and began helping injuredresidents who had gone to the facility for help, according to theTimes. When the hospital caught on fire, he helped other medical staff move the patients to the hospital’s helipad. Everyone survived.
“Now all of us are like, ‘Oh, this is what we do,’ ” Pierce recalled to theTimes. “We’re terrible at burning to death, but we’re amazing at taking care of people.”
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As thousand’s retweeted Pierce’s story on social media, Toyota officials offered to replace the man’s truck,writing in an Instagram comment: “We are humbled you’d risk your life and Toyota Tundra to drive people to safety. Don’t worry about your truck, we’re honored to get you a new one!”
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Although thousands of firefighters are working to contain the blazes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that “strong offshore” winds and low humidity “will promote conditions highly favorable” for acontinued spreadof the fires.
To help victims of the California wildfires, visit theLos Angeles Fire Department Foundation, theCalifornia Fire Foundationand theAmerican Red Cross, for more information.
source: people.com
