Marion County firefighter’s road to recovery

Marion County Fire Rescue Captain Chris Trubelhorn [Courtesy of MCFR]

The Marion County fire department and the community alike have come together in support of a local firefighter severely injured in the line of duty.

Capt. Chris Trubelhorn, 53, sustained serious burns while fighting a structure fire in Silver Springs on Nov. 1. He was transported to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he has been receiving treatment ever since, authorities said on Tuesday.

Trubelhorn, an 18-year veteran of Marion County Fire Rescue, was less than 500 days away from his retirement at the time of the accident, said Joe Romani, vice president of the Professional Firefighters of Marion County.

Romani describes himself as a friend of Trubelhorn’s, saying that they have been on vacation together before and described Trubelhorn and his wife Tabitha as “salt-of-the-earth” people. The pair have a son, Justin. Romani, along with members of the union, the department and chaplains, has been visiting Trubelhorn in the hospital.

“When I saw him the night of the actual burn, he was still more concerned about his crew,” Romani said. “Everything he does, it’s always been about making sure that everybody else is taken care of.”

Trubelhorn underwent his first surgery last week and is expected to have more over the course of his treatment.

“He is dealing with the fact that he has a varying degree of second- and third-degree burns from his shoulders down to his fingertips,” Romani said.

The injury occurred when Trubelhorn entered a structure fire in a mobile home at Southeast 20^th Place in Silver Springs. The caller, who reported the fire at 4:41 p.m. on Nov. 1, said it started in the kitchen as a grease fire while cooking, authorities say.
Romani said that despite the circumstance, Trubelhorn always has the “highest morale and is in the best spirits, no matter what.”

The other members of Trubelhorn’s crew have been offered support and resources in this time and are being observed for signs of mental stress and behavioral health issues, Romani said. Experiencing something like this and watching a colleague get hurt in the line of duty can be “traumatic,” he added.

“That’s what Marion County Fire Rescue faces, and what our members face, is the fact that this is a reminder of how real this job can get really fast,” he said. “We can’t control anything on the fire scenes. We rely on experience and training to show us what’s going on.”

Trubelhorn usually organizes the department’s annual chili cook-off, which took place on Nov. 4, just days after his injury. His presence was missed by all who attended, Romani said.

“At the chili cook-off, we had a large poster board. We had everybody who came to eat chili sign a “get well soon, Chris” poster board, and that’s up in his room now,” Romani said.

MCFR has been regularly updating the public about Trubelhorn’s condition on Facebook, where Fire Chief James Banta has made several statements in support of the injured firefighter.

“Our department leadership, the Professional Firefighters of Marion County Local 3169 and our chaplains are present at Shands caring for Chris and his family,” said Banta.

Trubelhorn expressed a desire to return to work, and continues to think of others through his recovery, Romani said.

“Our department, our union and our community will support him through each and every day,” Banta said.