06/03/2026
Our Feels Good Story of the day is brought to you by the Chesterfield County Opioid Abatement Coalition… at ALPHA All Life’s Problems Have Answers!
Terry McCarthy was just six years old when his life changed forever. In 1992, in Hawthorne, Nevada, he walked outside to find his older brothers playing with kerosene and a lighter. In a split second, the bowl tipped over — and Terry was engulfed in flames.
He suffered third- and fourth-degree burns over 73% of his body. Recovery meant a year in hospitals, painful surgeries, and five-hour bandage changes. Even bending could split his fragile skin back open. Through it all, his family stayed close — but emotionally, the scars ran deep.
As he grew older, life didn’t get easier. He was bullied for looking different. Employers turned him away. One manager bluntly told him, “I can’t hire you.”
By 25, Terry was tired of being seen as a victim. So he made a shocking decision: he joined a volunteer fire academy.
Just two weeks into training, he stood inside a burning room surrounded by smoke and flames. Suddenly, flashbacks hit him. Frozen in fear, he watched the fire roll toward him — until it hovered less than a foot above his head.
And then something changed.
For the first time since the accident, Terry realized he wasn’t powerless anymore. He was in control.
He grabbed the hose and fought the fire.
That moment transformed his life. Terry went on to serve as a volunteer firefighter, later dedicating his career to helping burn survivors, trauma victims, and people recovering from addiction.
Today, he says the experience that nearly destroyed him also taught him resilience, compassion, and purpose.
And after all these years, there’s still one person he hopes to find someday — the stranger who tackled a burning six-year-old boy to the ground and saved his life.
A burn victim becomes a volunteer firefighter… and that’s your Feels Good Story of the Day!
Our Feels Good Story of the Day is Sponsored by the Chesterfield County Opioid Abatement Coalition. FREE Narcan, Testing Strips, and Hygiene Packets are available in the vending machine at the entrance of the Chesterfield County Detention Center located at 319 Goodale Rd in Chesterfield. Call Karen Short at 843-623-7062 for more information or visit their website at ccoac.org. ALPHA Behavioral Health… All Life’s Problems Have Answers!
