GIVING THANKS : INJURED FIREFIGHTER GOES HOME.Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer As Ross Torstenbo was given a hero's send-off from the hospital Tuesday, it was clear the firefighter who was badly burned in the Calabasas blaze wasn't entirely comfortable in the spotlight. ``I'm sorry for disrupting things the last few weeks. . . . I never really planned on getting burned, you know, it just sort of happened,'' Torstenbo, 42, sheepishly sheep·ish adj. 1. Embarrassed, as by consciousness of a fault: a sheepish grin. 2. Meek or stupid. sheep told his firehouse buddies. Seated in a wheelchair, the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. city firefighter talked to reporters and co-workers just before he was released from the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital Sherman Oaks Hopital (SOH) is an 153 bed acute care facility in Sherman Oaks, California, USA and is home of world renowned the Grossman Burn Center. SOH is owned and operated by Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. and Health Center. Torstenbo, who lives in Pasadena, was burned over 25 percent of his body after his engine was engulfed by flames in Corral corral a small fenced-in enclosure with high, wooden fences, suitable for holding cattle or horses. corral system a management system in which range cattle are put into corrals and fed hay for a period when the environment is most Canyon in Malibu, as a firestorm fire·storm n. 1. A fire of great size and intensity that generates and is fed by strong inrushing winds from all sides: the firestorm that leveled Hiroshima after the atomic blast. 2. that started in Calabasas raced to the sea. He told reporters he would ``rather not'' talk about the details of the traumatic event A traumatic event is an event that is or may be a cause of trauma. The term may refer to one of the followiong:
``It was like you were sitting in the exhaust of an F-14 and the pilot kicked on the afterburners,'' Tomlinson said. Tomlinson jumped on Torstenbo's back to protect him after hearing his fellow firefighter scream, ``I'm really burned bad.'' Tuesday, his hands swathed in bandages, Torstenbo minimized his burns as ``not that big a thing.'' But he later conceded: ``It really hurt the first few days. I was just crippled up like an old man.'' He plans to return to light duty at the firehouse in a couple of months. Torstenbo and Tomlinson were among four firefighters treated at the burn center as a result of the Calabasas Fire. Only Glendale firefighter William Jensen remains hospitalized, but his condition was upgraded Tuesday from critical to serious. Jensen was burned over 70 percent of his body. He had his fourth surgery Tuesday, when doctors grafted scalp skin to his face, and chest skin to a hand and forearm. Torstenbo thanked the burn center's director, Dr. A. Richard Grossman Richard Grossman is the former co-director of the Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD). He is co-author of Taking Care of Business: Citizenship and the Charter of Incorporation. He lectures widely on issues of corporate power, law and democracy. , for skillfully skill·ful adj. 1. Possessing or exercising skill; expert. See Synonyms at proficient. 2. Characterized by, exhibiting, or requiring skill. repairing his badly injured arms - ``he did a miracle'' - and parishioners at his church, who cooked and cared for his three young children during his two-week hospitalization. But he reserved special thanks for his wife, Marilyn, who was at his side at the hospital every day. ``Thank you dear, I love you,'' he said softly. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Ross Torstenbo, with his wife, Marilyn, at his side, thanks hospital staff and friends before his discharge Tuesday. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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