The Gresham firefighter who suffered severe burns over 45% of his body while fighting a duplex fire is being released from the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center on Tuesday after more than three-and-a-half months of intensive treatment.
Before he returns home to his wife and their two boys, 33-year-old firefighter Spencer Tejedas will be moved to a rehab facility for two to three weeks, the City of Gresham said in a statement.
“The progress Spencer has made is truly remarkable,” Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis said. “We are thrilled for him to make this monumental step forward.”
Tejedas sustained his injuries on May 30, while battling a residential fire near the 1300 block of Southeast 182nd Street in Gresham, when the out-of-control blaze suddenly expanded. Two other firefighters suffered minor injuries. None of the residents were injured in the fire, officials said.
The two other firefighters were discharged from the hospital shortly after the incident, officials said.
Lewis called the May 30 incident a “harrowing reminder that despite our best efforts with robust training and protective gear just how dangerous the job of a firefighter is.”
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