VIDEO: A Green Country firefighter is home after a fireworks explosion this summer that killed one and injured four others in Southeastern Oklahoma. The explosion was just a day before the Fourth of July. Firefighters escorted Brad Lewallen from his hospital room in Oklahoma City to his home in Tahlequah on Friday, with signs of support all along the way. After 72 days in the hospital, Brad and his wife, Talisha, were surrounded by support on their nearly 200-mile journey home. Seemingly, every fire department from cities along the way escorted them back home or showed support from the side of the road.
โOh, thereโs too many to list. From Oklahoma City all the way back, everybody down I-40, and then departments just not even close to I-40 was in it,โ Brandon Qualls said. Qualls is a Keys Fire Department Captain, a shift commander at the Camp Gruber Fire Department, and Bradโs friend. โItโs humbling. The whole way. Excitement. We didnโt realize it would be this big of a turnout,โ Talisha said. โThereโs a weight lifted off of me, just being home,โ Brad said. Brad is a full-time firefighter at Camp Gruber and volunteers for the fire department in Keys. Qualls was one of dozens of firefighters who helped support his trip home. โBrad is the toughest, best dude I know,โ Qualls said. โHeโs my best friend and a coworker. They just donโt get any better.โ
The day before the Fourth of July, Brad was helping with a fireworks delivery for an event with the Choctaw Nation in Tuskahoma when an explosion changed his life and several others. He is grateful and eager to reconnect with his three young kids. โI don’t look the same,โ Brad said. โAnd getting them to understand that they’re not going to hurt dad, that I’m still there. Just give me some time, and I’ll look like him again. But it’s still me in here.โ As he pets his dog Wrangler and settles back into life on the ranch, he looks forward to a home-cooked meal. โI don’t know if you’ve ever stayed in hospital, but they don’t season anything, so I think just a big olโ chicken-fried steak and some homemade mashed potatoes would go a long ways.โ
There will be a fundraiser for Brad with a dinner and live auction on September 20th at Keys High School. The Choctaw Nation said one other victim is still in a Tulsa hospital. 22-year-old Ely Smith died a few days after the accident. The ATF is investigating the explosion.
