A Hunt County volunteer firefighter is currently in the fight of his life and it has nothing to do with a fire. He is battling COVID-19 and now his friends and family are coming together to support him. Meredith Yeomans reports.
What the Tawakoni Volunteer Fire Department may lack in size, they make up for with heart.
“You're giving you time up. You're dropping what you're doing to come help somebody else,” said Chris Burkett, Chief of the Tawakoni Vol. Fire Dept.
When calls come in, usually it's Assistant Chief Curtis Hough who heads out.
Mikey Kline said it was Hough who showed up when he collapsed a few weeks ago.
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“He was there. He saved my life,” Kline said.
Now, it's the helper who needs help.
“I love him. He's my hero and I want him to fight, fight, fight,” Kline said.
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Hough tested positive for COVID-19 on August 3, Burkett said, and was admitted to Hunt County Regional Hospital.
He's been on a ventilator for almost three weeks.
“Curtis has always been my right-hand man and to see him in the state he's in, it's hard,” Burkett said.
Burkett says Hough had an appointment to get vaccinated the day he was hospitalized.
“That's the hardest part about it,” Burkett said.
The entire town is coming together to help Hough and his wife Shannon, who's an EMT, firefighter and teacher.
“We’ll hold the line while you're not able to,” said David Rutherford, Captain of the Tawakoni South Volunteer Fire Dept.
They're raising money through a non-profit that helps veterans, like Hough, and raising awareness
“You gotta be careful guys,” Burkett said.
“I want him to come back home,” Kline said.
