VIDEO: The wife of an Oklahoma firefighter severely burned in a fire and explosion at the Choctaw Nation capitol grounds on July 2 provided updates on her husband’s recovery days after the incident. Brad Lewallen is a firefighter at Camp Gruber and the Keys Volunteer Fire Department. He was helping make a delivery of fireworks at the Choctaw Nation capitol grounds in Tuskahoma ahead of their annual Boom in the Valley show when the incident happened. The explosion injured five, with two being released that night but three others, including Brad, being admitted to Oklahoma hospitals in critical condition.
On July 5, three days after the incident, Brad’s wife Talisha spoke to 5NEWS about her husband’s survival and his journey forward. “Brad is doing pretty good, all things considered,” Talisha said. “About 70% of his body has burns. Doctors say he’s doing better than most people his age would do in this situation.” Talisha tells 5NEWS that besides the burns on his skin, doctors are worried about Brad’s lungs. “They’re a little concerned about his lungs right now, which isn’t to be unexpected, you know, breathing in that type of smoke inhalation, so it’s going to be touch and go for a couple of weeks.” Talisha said her husband is lucky to have survived, and there’s a lot more healing to be done. “Brad was very lucky. There was somebody standing behind him and pulled him, like grabbed him and threw him pretty much out of the room before the major part happened,” Talisha said “They’ll be having twice a week [skin graft] surgeries for about four weeks, “Talisha continued. “So, we’re hanging in there. He really is a fighter; he’s a strong man. That’s all they kept saying when they brought him in.”
Talisha said their family has been overwhelmed with support since the fire. “I don’t think words can even express it. Thank you doesn’t seem like enough. We have been contacted by so many of not even just our loved ones, but the firefighter community has been phenomenal,” Talisha said. “Our Cherokee Nation community has been phenomenal. The Tahlequah, the Keys community, people that we don’t even know have reached out and either sent prayers or, you know, the fundraisers and donations, nothing that I would have ever even have expected.” Brad and the other two severely injured victims of the explosion, Ely Smith and Cash Collins, are being supported by multiple community benefits and fundraisers.
