BUTTE — Butte firefighters and first responders are welcoming home one of their own who just underwent successful surgery in Missoula, just three days after being injured in a house fire.
Capt. Brant Bristol was able to hug his children when he arrived in Butte after fracturing his neck when a roof partially collapsed on him during a house fire early on May 7.
His fellow firefighters escorted Bristol back home after rolling into town.
“Oh we love Brant, Brant is everybody’s favorite person at the fire department. We would do this for anybody, but Brant is such a high-spirited guy and we just wanted to show as much support as we could to him,” said Butte Fire Chief Zach Osborne.
After being injured while fighting a fire at a home in the 1600 block of Yale Street, Bristol was taken to St. James Health Care in Butte before being transferred by air to St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula where he underwent surgery. Family members were amazed by his recovery.
“Oh, we’re overjoyed, just a huge relief, just the whole family is thankful. They had Brant up and walking, I believe, Monday. So no paralysis, so we’re all very thankful,” said Bristol’s mother-in-law Carrie Holland.
Sunday’s incident shows how dangerous a structure fire can be and this could have happened to anyone at the scene.
“Just unlucky on his part, he was standing underneath right when the beam gave way and landed on his head,” said Osborne.
Despite his injury, Bristol was able to walk and personally thank his fellow firefighters.
