Firefighters greet injured brother in Montgomery homecoming Wednesday

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - A seriously injured Montgomery firefighter returned home to Montgomery Wednesday afternoon after weeks in intensive care at a Birmingham hospital.

Around 3:15 p.m., Capt. Donald L. Crenshaw Jr.’s flight from Birmingham to Montgomery landed at Montgomery Aviation Airport where Crenshaw was greeted with applause. The firefighter waved with bandaged hands and had a big smile on his face as his stretcher was loaded into the back of an ambulance. He is being transported home by Rescue 94 with units from his station there to welcome him home.

For the past two weeks, Crenshaw, 45, has been in UAB’s Intensive Burn Unit where doctors and nurses have been treating him for second and third-degree burns across 20% of his body, particularly affecting his upper extremities.

A spokesperson with the fire department said Crenshaw’s road to recovery is still far from over and he will have to return to UAB on occasion for additional treatment, but they’re just glad he’s back home.

Crenshaw was one of two MFR firefighters critically injured in a deadly May 14 Gilmer Avenue house fire. Three others suffered less severe injuries.

A second critically injured firefighter, Deandre M. Hartman, 34, suffered extensive burns around his biceps as well as injuries to his eyes and lungs. He remains hospitalized but in stable condition, which MFR said was a positive sign.

Three other firefighters who were treated and later released to recover at home include Adarius Wesley, James A. Christian, Jr. and David O. Watson, III.

Two people, including a child and a bedridden man, were killed in the blaze. Their names have not been released. An investigation into the fire is ongoing.

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