Paul Feely
曼彻斯特新罕布什尔州联盟领导人
（MCT）
Jun. 30—Surrounded by flames, his equipment snagged on a ladder, Steve DesRuisseaux thought his 48 years on this earth might be over.
曼彻斯特消防船长是他想在城市西侧长大的部门的24年老兵，他去年秋天与致命的公寓大火作斗争时，他的皮肤在燃烧。
Engulfed in flames, caught in a flashover while rescuing a man from the second floor of the building, DesRuisseaux knew he was running out of time after his breathing device got caught on a ladder, trapping him.
Desruisseaux回忆说：“有这样的大火，那样，我会感到自己在燃烧，几乎达到了我接受将要发生的事情，您在说'就是这样'。”“我一直在战斗，我是说我不会像这样出去，但是你开始思考您的家人和您所听到的所有陈词滥调。”
“Then I was falling, and it was the best feeling in the world.”
DesRuisseaux returned to duty Monday, seven months after suffering second- and third-degree burns over more than a third of his body.
曼彻斯特（Manchester）现年59岁的凯瑟琳·康恩（Kathryn Conn）在11月6日的火灾中因吸入烟雾吸入而死于烟熏街10号的一栋六个单元的多户家庭建筑，在大火扑灭后，她的尸体在二楼的后廊上被发现。
Firefighters rescued six people, including a baby, officials said. Two girls, two men and a woman were rescued from the third floor, and a man was helped down from the second floor by ladder.
Desruisseaux说：“当我进行二楼的救援时，那是一切照亮的时候。”“条件迅速恶化。当我试图把它拿出窗外时，我戴在梯子上，我的装备挂了，我的空气包在梯子的顶部。我参与了大火约30秒。”
Lt. Scott Brassard climbed the ladder to try to free DesRuisseaux.
“I could see him face to face for about 20 seconds,” DesRuisseaux said. “I kept yelling at him to ‘dump the ladder, dump the ladder.’ They were trying to free me up but I knew there was no way it was going to work. I was flailing, and knew I was still in the window.”
消防人员约书亚·夏尔潘蒂（Joshua Charpentier
“我记得生动地跌倒了，” Desruisseaux。“这是最好的感觉，因为我知道我有机会。”
DesRuisseaux said that from the time his crew arrived on scene to when he was crawling across the ground, badly burned, only 8 1/2 minutes passed. In the days after the blaze, his protective equipment was evaluated by officials.
“They said my air pack had, at maximum, 10 seconds left before it would have totally failed,” DesRuisseaux said. “There was a hole forming in my mask, everything was burning through.”
Preparing for next time
曼彻斯特消防局长安德烈·普尔（Andre Parent）表示，德斯鲁伊苏斯（Desruisseaux）被外科医生清理后，目前被指定为“轻便责任”。
Light duty consists mainly of administrative work. DesRuisseaux is working out of Manchester Fire Headquarters downtown.
“It’s been an incredible journey for Steve,” Parent said. “His resiliency coming back, his perseverance just speaks to his professionalism to get back to the job. He loves it. We’re lucky to have him back, and we hope to have him hopping on fire trucks soon.”
DesRuisseaux said he’s looking forward to being on a truck again but admits he has played the question of how he might react in a similar situation “over and over again” in his head.
“I made the promise that I’m not going to come back onto the line until I know I’m ready, and I don’t want to be a detriment to my men,” DesRuisseaux said. “I’ve been talking to people to make sure I’m good as best I can, but ultimately it’s going to be when I’m riding in the front seat again and I roll up on something. That’s gonna be the ultimate test.
“Up until then I’ve got to make sure I’m prepared for that. I think I will be.”
经过几次手术，Desruisseaux开始了五个月的康复，以增强力量并增加左手和手臂的运动范围。他进行的练习是根据每天的工作消防员进行的，包括拉和抬起软管和攀爬梯子。Desruisseaux还在波士顿接受了几种移植物和激光治疗，以修复他的皮肤。
Leaning on family
Through it all, DesRuisseaux said, his family — son Jack, 18, daughter Megan, 20, and wife Colleen — had his back.
“尤其是我的妻子，因为第二次发生，她一直是我的岩石，” Desruisseaux说。“她为我做了一切，我要做的就是专注于康复。没有她，我不知道今天要去哪里。”
The couple celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in May.
Desruisseaux说：“我很高兴在这里为此。”“你说，‘因为好坏，’在此期间，这很闪耀。她没有动摇，毫不犹豫。她对我重新上班感到紧张 - 让您的家人度过难关，您会感到非常糟糕 - 但他们了解我们在工作中所做的事情，并且他们理解这样的事情可能会发生。他们要接受这一点并支持这一支持，使我们能够做到这一点。
“She knows I love to do this for work, but she’s nervous …the last time I went to work I didn’t come home.”
DesRuisseaux said the scars he carries — both physical and mental — from that night in November will always be with him, but he’s confident his training will take over the next time he finds himself in a burning building.
Desruisseaux说：“您进入了那里的那个区域，而您的直觉接管了。”“它总是在我的脑海中，但是有些很好 - 利用它来发挥您的优势。下次会给您带来更高的意识。采取一个非常糟糕的情况，从中获得积极的态度。”
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