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Randy Ballinger of PFD's Ladder 13 and his colleagues were called to a burning rowhome in Southwest Philly where victims were trapped inside early on Saturday, Feb. 25, his loved ones wrote on GoFundMe.
But while performing "roof operations" on the second floor, Ballinger lost his balance and fell two stories to the ground, 25 feet below. At a nearby trauma center, doctors found the fireman had suffered a concussion, a collapsed lung, a torn aorta, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, multiple "long bone" fractures to both legs, and a compound ankle fracture.
Loved ones said on GoFundMe that Randy remains in critical condition and faces a long road to recovery, but he won't walk it alone. As of early Monday, Feb. 27 — about a day after going live — the fund drive has raised a staggering $53,000 on the firefighter's behalf.
Campaign organizer Kristy Hadley says the money will help Randy's fiancee Kathy and his two young children navigate the months of surgeries and physical therapy to come.
But in the meantime, colleagues say Randy's staying in good spirits.
"We thankfully, as a company, were able to briefly speak with him after he was stabilized," organizers wrote. "And in true Randy fashion, he still had kept his sense of humor and was cracking jokes despite his condition."
According to the campaign page, Randy was previously served as a volunteer and then as paid staff at the Woodbury Fire Department in New Jersey. He has been with PFD for the last five years, they added.
Department brass issued a statement of support for the wounded firefighter on Twitter late Sunday, Feb. 26.
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