DALLAS — It's been more than a month since a gas explosion in Southeast Dallas left four firefighters injured. Three of them were severely hurt and hospitalized on September 29, including Officer Pauline Perez.
Perez is a 29-year-old rookie at Dallas Fire-Rescue. She remembers the incident clearly.
That Wednesday, Perez responded with her colleagues on Truck 25 to Highland Hills Apartments. She said, "The minute we got there, we smelled gas."
Perez said her captain, Chris Gadomski, told her to put on her SCBA mask and find the source of the leak. She believes that mask saved her life.
Perez walked into an apartment, where shots were fired overnight. She looked at the oven and noticed shattered glass. She knew immediately where the leak was and said, "I could hear it hissing. I could hear the gas line hissing."
"As I'm turning around, that was it. I heard a loud explosion. I'm engulfed in a huge ball of flames. I'm burning. And I'm being tossed, not tossed, thrown about 50 feet across the room," said Perez.
The building collapsed, and she was trapped from the waist down.
Perez said in that moment, she accepted her death.
"I started praying, and I was asking God to give my family and my parents understanding and comfort. And I asked him to make it quick and easy."
She knew Captain Gadomski and Driver Engineer Ron Hall were in the breezeway of the apartment building when the explosion happened. She couldn't see or hear them, but knew they were severely injured too.
"It looked like I was in the fiery pits of hell," said Perez.
She saw the flames grow higher. Burnt on her hands, arms, legs and ears, Perez mustered up all her strength to move and kick herself free. She climbed and crawled toward the daylight.
Perez shared an ambulance with Hall to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where she spent more than two weeks undergoing scans and surgery.
"It's nothing short of a miracle that we are all still here," said Perez.
Physical and occupational therapy sessions are planned for her next six months. As a young, overachieving firefighter, she has to remind herself that the recovery process is not a sprint, but a marathon.
Perez was the first to be discharged from Parkland Memorial Hospital on Oct. 15. She's been home since to recover.
She is now relearning to use her hands as her skin heals. Her nails are growing. And she has to do constant stretches as her skin tightens up every few minutes.
"It's very, very painful, but it has to get done," said Perez.
She hopes to fully recover and go back to firefighting in Oak Cliff, where she was raised.
"I am going back, for sure. This isn't it for me, assuming I get full range of motion in my hands," she said.
As she recovers, Perez is getting around-the-clock help from her family and girlfriend. She's also receiving support from her friends and from Dallas Fire-Rescue.
Perez has always been very independent, but this process is teaching her how to accept help when it's needed. She knows, for now, she can't be alone as she works her way back to independence.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help the three firefighters and their families.
Firefighter Hall was released from inpatient rehabilitation this week and is recovering at home. Captain Gadomski was discharged from UT Southwestern's inpatient rehabilitation hospital on Friday afternoon.