Firefighter Out of Hospital

Living in LoCo is Erica Garman's blog devoted to all things interesting in Loudoun County. You can find it athttp://www.loudounextra.com. This column of highlights from the blog appears in this space every Sunday.

Lt. John "Bones" Earley, the most seriously injured among the six firefighters hurt in a fire May 25 in Leesburg, was released from a hospital Aug. 1.

On his ride home, Earley was met at the Fairfax-Loudoun border by fire vehicles and his fire and rescue "family." He hopped into the front seat of Tower 6, the truck he rode to the two-alarm blaze where he suffered the third-degree burns that kept him at Washington Hospital Center for nearly two months.

When Tower 6 pulled into the garage at the Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, where Earley is stationed, the dispatcher announced: "Welcome home, Lieutenant John Earley."

Earley is a career firefighter with the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management. He volunteers nights with the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company.

After learning the extent of his injuries, the Leesburg company set up the John Earley Relief Fund, and it has sponsored fundraisers to help his family.

On June 28, the company held a dance in the Flame Room behind Station 1, with all proceeds going to the fund.

A blurb on the company's Web site says a fundraiser July 31 at an Ashburn restaurant was so popular that participants waited in a line that spilled outside. Ten percent of each tab that night went to the fund.

The Valor Foundation of Loudoun also reported making a donation to the Earley family. Stu Plittman, a foundation board member, said the organization provides assistance to emergency workers when "needs surpass resources."

"We are honored to have this one-of-a-kind financial support system in Loudoun County available for those individuals who place themselves at risk while serving their community," Plittman said in a statement.

Welcome home, Lt. Earley.