WASHINGTON — You’re invited to a breakfast benefit Wednesday to help pay an injured firefighter’s medical bills.
Probationary D.C. firefighter Dane Smothers, Jr. was accidentally hit by a ladder truck last week while getting equipment ready to attack a fire.
He remained in critical condition at Medstar Washington Hospital Center.
The benefit runs from 8 a.m. until noon Wednesday at the Tune Inn Restaurant & Bar on Capitol Hill.
A $20 donation gets you a breakfast buffet and drink specials.
“You don’t have to be a member of the fire department,” said Lt. Robert Alvarado with the D.C. Fire Department. “We would love members of the community to come by.”
Alvarado is a member of the Scorched Souls Motorcycle Club, one of the organizers of the event.
“Our plan is to afterward, get on our bikes and ride up to MedStar and hopefully, meet privately with (Smothers’ family) and give them the proceeds,” he said.
Alvarado has not yet met Smothers.
“What I do know of him from others is that he’s a very phenomenal young man,” Alvarado said.
“This particular experience is just a painful reminder how comprehensively dangerous the job is,” Alvarado added. “Everything about it’s dangerous. It’s a 100 percent injury rate, unfortunately, on this job, and it’s just a question of when and how serious it’s going to be.”
In addition to the benefit, a GoFundMe page has been set up for Smothers with a goal of raising $10,000.
Smothers, who is 28-years-old, only left the academy about three months ago.
“Even if you’re on the job 30 seconds or 30 years, you’re part of the family the minute you take that oath and walk through those firehouse doors for the first time,” Alvarado said. “It hits us all pretty deeply.”
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