NORTH BEACH, MD - As the North Beach Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad (Company 1) web site proclaims, “Only the Strong Survive.” On April 15, firefighter/medic Daniel McGown demonstrated his strength to his comrades at Company 1. One week after being critically injured fighting a house fire in Prince George’s County and one day after being released from a Washington, DC hospital, McGown was back at Company 1.
“I’m glad to be out of the house,” McGown told one well-wisher as he stepped out of the command vehicle that transported him from his home in Owings to the “Beach House.”
With his voice raspy, and his face caked with balm to soothe the severe burns he sustained in the April 8 fire, McGown, clad in a windbreaker, sweat pants and sandals, accepted hugs and handshakes from well-wishers. Throughout the visit, he continued to drink bottled water as a way to quell the soreness in his throat. As of April 15, McGown still wasn’t allowed to eat solid foods.
“He looks real good,” said veteran firefighter John Gott Sr.
“It’s great to have him back,” said Company 1 Chief Billy Freesland, who admitted it would be awhile before McGown would be back in action as a firefighter and medic.
McGown stated his full recovery is going to take “several months.” He will return to the burn unit at Washington Hospital Center on a weekly basis for follow-up appointments.
A volunteer with Company 1 since he was 16, the 21-year-old McGown is a four-year employee of Prince George’s Fire/EMS. Fire officials stated McGown was part of a unit from the Kentland Fire/EMS Station (Company 33) dispatched during the early morning hours of April 8 for a house fire in Kettering. While inside the burning home, McGown issued a MAYDAY by activating a personal alert safety system device, which is integrated into a self-contained breathing apparatus.
According to a fire department press release, McGown’s fellow firefighters found him “in a first-floor living room, sounded the MAYDAY and quickly removed McGown by way of a window.”
“The guys from ’33,’ without a doubt,” said McGown, when asked how he thought his life was saved.
“Nobody knew exactly what had happened or how bad the injuries were,” said Karen O’Connor, a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT) with the Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department. O’Connor said she learned about McGown’s injuries around 7 a.m. on the morning of the fire.
“The news was making it seem like it was extremely bad and we didn’t know what the outcome would be,” said O’Connor. “Professional or volunteer [firefighter], it doesn’t matter. They’re all a concern, especially when they get hurt.”
“I met him the first day I came in,” said William Hohman, 13 of North Beach, a cadet at Company 1. “He, along with some of the other guys, they’ve been like my big brothers.”
While admitting that seeing what happened to McGown was a testament to the dangers of firefighting, Hohman quickly added, “it’s still what I want to do.”
“He looks really good today,” said Company 1 EMT Sissy Gott, who was one of several volunteers who went to see McGown Easter weekend while he was in the intensive care unit. Visitors were only allowed a few minutes with the injured firefighter.
“I couldn’t tell you,” said McGown, when asked how many e-mails and cards he had received during his convalescence.
One well-wisher bought him a Rubik’s Cube and a patriotic-themed pocketknife.
Mostly, the volunteers at the Beach House who welcomed McGown home sat next to him in the company’s training room, cracking jokes and making small talk.
In a press release from Company 33, Kentland Fire Department officials indicated McGown would be assigned to an ambulance when he was ready to return to work.
The press release stated that the Company 33 members “wish Danny a speedy recovery. Hurry back, brother.”
