LOS ANGELES – Chilling memories come to firefighter and paramedic Andrew Tom when he thinks about the Boyd Street explosion that sent Los Angeles Fire Department crews crawling through a fireball at a downtown Los Angeles warehouse.
Tom is one of a dozen LAFD members who were injured in the massive inferno that happened on May 16.
“I was realizing I had no more time. I was on fire. It sounded like the building was going to collapse,” said Tom, recalling the anguish he felt as he tried to escape the explosion.
Tom’s crew was inside the warehouse when they heard a sound like a jet engine roar and suddenly they were pushed back by a flashover that caught parts of their uniforms on fire.
Dramatic video footage captured the moment a fire crew team was on the roof and was caught in the flashover as they climbed down a ladder back to a fire truck.
Tom tried to crawl towards a warehouse an exit. He thought his life was over as panic rushed over him.
“I thought that at 31 years old, I hadn’t accomplished much in life. I love to travel, and I thought about all the places I wish I had traveled. It was just going to end right here. I’m single. I don’t have a family, no kids, so I was just thinking in my mind that I’m leaving nothing behind,” Tom said.
Tom and several other firefighters spent days at the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills and underwent surgery for second and third degree burns on his ears and back. The physical pain he endured was agonizing, but Tom said much worse has been the mental trauma of living through a near-death experience.
He now suffers from PTSD, and regularly meets with a psychologist.
“I do have flashbacks where my mind wanders back to the incident when I was trying to escape. Where I can see my arms on fire and other people on fire and the other people screaming,” Tom said.
Tom said knowing that he’s not the only one going through the healing process is comforting. Two of the other injured firefighters were in his class going into the department.
The day of the fire was his four-year anniversary with LAFD.
At a media event Wednesday at the Grossman Burn Center, Tom reunited with some of his fellow firefighters, as well as with the care workers from the hospital.
City leaders, including Mayor Eric Garcetti and other members of City Council, thanked the injured crew members for their service and their sacrifice.
“I really appreciate everybody coming out. It does help, mentally, for me at least,” Tom said.
Tom said he knows his road to recovery will be a long one, but he hopes it’s a road that will ultimately lead him back to a future in saving lives. He said he wants to use his experience for something positive, to help others.
“I’m grateful to be here. I’m definitely going to have a different outlook on life,” Tom said.