A Fredericton woman spent Monday celebrating with the firefighters who saved her life after a devastating house fire a year ago.
Tori McCarty nearly lost her life in the fire on Aug. 25, 2013. She suffered severe burns over almost a quarter of her body, as well as devastating smoke inhalation.
“The conditions were total blackout, smoke-filled conditions,” says Fredericton Fire Lt. Rick Trecartin, who responded to the fire that morning. “Heavy heart as the fire had self-vented out one of the windows.”
Capt. Charles Betts was among those searching the building for people and it was Betts who pulled McCarty’s lifeless body from the smoudlering rubble and carried her from the inferno.
“It’s probably the best feeling that a person could have, knowing the person you once thought was dead is now alive and they’re doing so well,” says Betts.
The 20-year-old spent more than two months in a Halifax hospital and has spent much of the last year recovering from her injuries.
Her voice is still scarred from smoke damage and skin grafts cover her burns. Her recovery has been trying and painful, but she says she is focusing on the positives.
“It was fun to celebrate and not get sad about it or think about the actual burns and that kind of thing,” says McCarty. “It was more about living and life for me, not the scars.”
Her father Thane McCarty says his family has a new appreciation for life and how quickly it can change. He also says he is thankful, despite the injuries and exhaustive rehabilitation his daughter has been forced to endure.
“There’s people that aren’t as lucky as us and we feel blessed and we just wanted to make sure that we showed our appreciation to these guys on both sides of the river who responded to the fire,” says Thane.
Next week, McCarty will return to class at St. Thomas University for the first time in more than a year.
She says heading back to school is the next step in her recovery, and another she is thankful she can take.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
