Injured West Chester firefighter returns home to hero's welcome

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (FOX 29) - A young West Chester firefighter is home just 15 days after falling through the floor of a burning home in Delaware.

"It's absolutely awesome. I'm thankful for everybody!" Dave Smiley exclaimed.

Burgers and hot dogs were on the menu for the welcome home cookout at the aptly named Good Will Fire Company in West Chester, Friday afternoon.

"I'm eating everything! Anything is better than hospital food," Smiley jokingly states.

Dave Smiley Jr., a 23-year-old firefighter, was battling a house fire in Mill Creek, Delaware on the morning of March 14. Smiley works three different fire-fighting jobs. He was on the second floor of the home when the floor collapsed beneath him.

"We were going to do a search in the bedroom and I felt my foot go through and then my whole body went through, as quick as that," Smiley explained. "There was never a thought that I wasn't going to come out."

Smiley spent two weeks recovering from second and third-degree burns on his hands and feet, back and face, before being released from Crozer-Chester Medical Center Friday, to applause from his friends and colleagues.

Smiley's dad is a firefighter. A younger brother wants to join. It's tough on mom.

"I mean, you're prepared for missed meals and missed holidays and disrupted - you know, running to calls and that kind of thing. But, not for somebody being hurt," Lynn Smiley said.

As Smiley partied with those he calls "the brotherhood" - those who know this is not a job, but a calling - all he could think was, 'How fast can I get back on the job?'

"Why would you go back to this?" asked FOX 29's Bruce Gordon.
"That's what I love. It's all I've known. It's my whole life. I love it. I would never question not firefighting again," Smiley answered.