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I would like to share what happened this weekend at Wash 12. A truly horifying event and a situation where I saw a side of my wife I have never seen before and hope to never see again.

Friday morning about 7:30 my wife and I had just gotten up and were making coffee and about to head outside to see who else was out and about in camp. We then heard an explosion so strong that our motorhome felt as if it was up on two wheels, what followed after that I will never forget, screaming like I have never heard before. My wife is an RN of 19 years and ran out the door of our motorhome and I followed. We rounded our motorhome and entered the neighboring camp and I saw something I hope to never see again. A trailer was blown open like a tin can, thick black smoke billowing from the door and a woman was standing there in front of it, her hair was burned off, most of her clothes were burned off, the pieces of clothing that were still on her were on fire. Her skin was charred and just hanging off of her in curled up sheets. Standing next to the woman was one of their dogs with all of its hair burned off and was literally still smoking. The explosion blew the woman out the side door of the trailer but her husband who was still in bed at the time was still inside. Moments later he emerged out the door.

The camp was in complete hysteria, people were screaming, nobody knew what to do first, every just kept screaming "call 911", but nothing was getting done, everyone was just in shock.

My wife Laurie just went into action and took over the situation. The woman was the worst off, the husband had some burns but he was in bed and the covers he had on shielded most of him from the flames. Laurie directed people to wet down sheets, not wool blankets like some were about to, and began to calm the woman and talk her through what was happening. Her remaining clothes were cut off and she was wrapped in the wet sheets. My wife told some others what to do with the husband while she tended to the woman. 911 had been called and fire and medics were in route.

About 5 minutes later Laurie yelled at someone to call 911 again and to give her the phone. The dispatcher connected her with the Brawley fire department who were in route along with BLM medics. She told the fire department the woman's vitals and that it was apparent that the woman's lungs were burned from breathing in the flames and that her lungs were failing, her blood oxygen level was dropping. If she had to wait for the police and fire department to arrive before making a decision about Lifeflight it might be too late. The woman needed to be intubated or she was going to die. The fire department agreed with Laurie and dispatched the helicopter before any authorities had arrived on scene, which allowed the helicopter to arrive much earlier than what normally occurs when the first on scene responders make the decision to call for a chopper.

The helicopter landed and the flight nurses rushed her inside the chopper. They stayed on scene to put her under anesthesia and intubated her before lifting off.

The BLM supervisor on scene came up to us after the chopper was gone and said thank you for saving the womans life. If the helicopter had arrived 10 minutes later her airway would have closed from the swelling of her burnt lungs.

My wife never left that womans side and directed others to tend to the husband per her instructions. Even when the fire department, emts and blm arrived my wife didnt hand over her patient, and it was pretty clear that they were ok with that. Linda kept saying........"Laurie dont leave me, please dont leave me".

Linda and her husband were both airlifted to Yuma and then on to a San Diego burn unit. Her husband should be out of the hospital soon but Linda needs any and all prayers. As of this morning she was in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator while they hope that her lungs will heal so she can survive. After that she will have do deal with the burns. She has third degree burns on her hands and arms and second degree on her face and most of her upper body.

I love my wife dearly and have always been very proud of what she does for a living. When we both rounded the corner and saw Linda standing their screaming I stopped, in shock at what I was seeing, my wife never looked back and just kept running towards her. She took an oath when she became a nurse, when bad things happen like this she says that she just goes into autopilot mode and dives right in to the situation.

This Thanksgiving we were all thankful that my wife was there and I know Linda and her will be lifelong friends. We all exchanged contact info with Linda's family members and I will keep you posted.

On a side note, this trailer was a SportTrailer that had been modified by the owner so that it could be slept in. They added heat, ac, shower, electric etc. I know many people go this route and if so please be careful and always check your work and inspect it regularly. While they slept something malfunctioned and the trailer filled with LP. Linda said she smelled gas but thought it was from outside, and then she turned on the switch to the coffee maker.