A firefighter hurt while battling a large Brooklyn blaze last year left the hospital after three months of recovery Friday, surrounded by cheering family and firefighters.
"Three months is a long time -- it's an emotional day obviously," said Robert Wiedmann, 38, who had serious burns on more than 50 percent of his body after the Dec. 19 fire on the third floor of a brownstone on Prospect Place in Crown Heights.
Wiedmann and firefighter James Gersbeck became trapped inside the building; Gersbeck also suffered burns but was able to escape, while Wiedmann was engulfed in flames. He had to be rescued through a window.
Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said that Wiedmann's "commitment, his perseverance, has given every member of this department an uplifting spirit of hope, resilience and recovery."
The firefighter, who has been with the FDNY for 14 years, has endured 10 operations, and has more recovery to go through.
"He knows he has a road ahead of him," Dr. Roger Yurt. "But he couldn't be here today without the fortitude that he's had to get him through this."
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