Firefighter gets lift home

PALMER -- Firefighter Todd Russell returned home to a hero's welcome last Friday. Russell was injured during the March windstorm when a sign at the Chevron station on Evergreen Ave. fell over and partially crushed the Palmer Fire Department vehicle in which he was riding. At the time of the accident, Russell was responding to one of dozens of brush fires that broke out during the storm.

On Thursday, Russell and his wife Rebecca were given a helicopter ride from Providence Alaska Medical Center to the Palmer airport where they were greeted by friends, family members and a large group of Palmer residents, including firefighters from several departments. The helicopter was provided free of charge by Evergreen Aviation, Inc. and landed near a row of ambulances and fire trucks.

Russell's daughters, nine-year-old Tiffany and six-year-old Brittany, watched with their grandmother Sharon while the chopper circled around the crowd, and their father waved from a side window.

A few minutes later, their dad was walking away from the helicopter wearing a neck brace and smiling. The girls ran up and hugged him around his legs.

The family watched as a bundle of red, white and blue balloons was released and Brittany presented her dad with a stack of hand-made cards drawn by her second-grade classmates at Swanson Elementary School.

Russell told reporters that he was looking forward to fire fighting again and that he still faces "a month or more of rehab and some therapy."

Russell and assistant fire chief Barry Mothershead were responding to a brush fire just before 11 a.m. on March 13 when the sign gave way. Russell was in the passenger seat and suffered from life-threatening injuries. He was treated at Valley Hospital Emergency Room and transported by ambulance to Providence later that day. Russell started to regain consciousness about two weeks later.

Thursday at the airport, Russell's daughters were obviously delighted to be bringing their father home. Tiffany objected when her dad told reporters that he was "looking forward to getting back into fire fighting."

"Oh no your not," Tiffany said, holding her father tightly around the waist.

"She's always objected to some degree, because no matter where I'm at if the pager goes off I get up and leave. We could be at a picnic." Russell said. "I think that's where most of her objections come from."

Russell said he doesn't remember anything about the accident. His recovery was a gradual process and he relies on other people to tell him about the first days of regaining consciousness. He does remember being told he wouldn't be out of the hospital until April 29.

"I told them my goal was to get out the twenty-first," Russell said. "They tried to keep up with me but I was determined -- of course, when you're determined it's pretty hard for people to keep up with you."