Birmingham firefighter Brad Dean remembers the house fire on November 18.
During the call, Dean got trapped in one of the rooms in the home. He suffered third degree burns to most of his body.
"Everything was a fairly routine house fire, and things changed quickly," Dean said. "We kind of struggled finding our way out and it just went downhill fast.
After several weeks in the hospital, Dean is back on his feet. Though for now, he is now unable to do the job he felt called to do.
"It means a lot to me, to be a firefighter, it is something that I've always been interested in doing and its something I'm going to continue to do," says Dean.
While Dean is recovering, the community is rallying to help raise money for him and his family with a bowling fundraiser.
But the bowling fundraiser is only half the story. Country music singer Bucky Covington performed as part of the BLEVE organizations', "Help the Good Guys" campaign, aimed to help firefighters and police injured in the line of duty by providing financial relief.
Covington said, "You never know when you're the one that's going to be helped. It's definitely a great cause to get to cause we need these guys. We need every last one of them, so we need to protect them and this is a great way of saying thanks."
For Dean, he's used to helping others in their time of need. Now that others are helping him, it is hard for him to put it into words.
"It means a lot to me and my family and thanks doesn't seem to be enough," Dean said.
More than $5,000 have been raised for Brad Dean's family.
Donations are still being accepted on the BLEVE web site. To donate, click here.
