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Cobb Firefighter William Callier’s rescue instincts kicked in without hesitation.
He was returning from vacation in Florida with his family on June 8 when he witnessed a pickup truck hydroplane in the rain and then flip over in the median.
RECOVERING: Cobb County Firefighter Will Callier wants to heal quickly so he can return to duty. Callier was injured taking part in a rescue attempt during his vacation in Florida.
“I was afraid water was going into the cab, and I knew I needed to get them out quickly,” Callier said. He was joined by four other Good Samaritans – an Ovieda County (Fla.) firefighter, a doctor, a nurse and her boyfriend.
“We were standing in a semicircle around the vehicle trying to slide the woman out,” Callier said. “That’s the last thing I remember.”
With no warning, a tractor trailer quickly approached the stopped traffic. Unable to brake, the trailer veered into the median and headed directly for the overturned pickup truck and rescuers.
“When I regained consciousness, I did a self-assessment. I wiggled my fingers and toes,” Callier said. “It just felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.”
But his injuries were more serious than that. Callier’s right femur was broken in four places and his left tibia fractured, requiring emergency surgery the next day at an Orlando hospital.
The other rescuers weren’t as fortunate. The Florida firefighter and doctor were killed immediately, and the nurse and her boyfriend seriously injured.
“It’s a blessing that I’m still here,” Callier said. “I thank God every day.”
On June 11, just two days after the surgery, he was able to return home – in style. One of his colleagues, Dennis Thayer, who also works a part-time job, borrowed the company limo and drove to Orlando with three other Cobb firefighters, Sean Boggess, Ron Callihan and Mike Harrelson, to pick up Callier and his wife.
Their two sons, 15-year-old William II and 12-year-old Khiry, had already gone home to stay with their grandmother.
“The department has been great,” Callier said. “They’ve all made this tragic experience a little bit positive.”
Callihan built a ramp so Callier can get in and out his front door in a wheelchair. Mary Dowda made sure he had a hospital bed waiting for him at home, countless others stopped by to visit or take him out for lunch and about two dozen co-workers offered their help.
“It’s been an eye-opener how people came together to support me and my family,” Callier said. “[Firefighting] is one the last professions that is a family atmosphere. Without asking, people just started doing.”
After six weeks in a wheelchair, Callier has graduated to crutches and hopes to start rehab the first of this month.
“It’s been no fun at all,” he said. “I’m tired of just sitting around all day. I haven’t got down about it, though. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
Even what he calls “the most traumatic experience” can’t keep Callier from wishing he were back at work saving lives – a job he’s had for the last ten years. His goal is to start restricted duty by the end of September and return to full duty before the end of the year.
“We’re trained for those situations,” he said. “We choose to do it. It just goes along with the job. I didn’t do anything another firefighter wouldn’t do.”
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