MINNETONKA, Minn. — Firefighters are used to getting the call, the one that sends them out into the community to save a life, but rarely do they get the call that involves one of their own.
“It’s the call you never want to get. We knew it was bad right off,” Minnetonka Fire Chief John Vance says.
Vance received that call early Saturday morning after one of his firefighters was injured during a routine training exercise in Minnetonka.
Vance says 14-year veteran Tim Tripp slipped on a patch of ice and hit his head on the ground.
“It was a typical training. It’s something he has literally done a thousand times before. He was just on a patch of ice and took a severe fall,” Vance explains.
The fall caused a severe head injury that required immediate attention.
"He's on life support right now, supporting him while his brain heals. He's had to undergo at least four surgeries to relieve pressure on his brain,” Vance says.
"It's going to be a long hall for him with his recovery."
Chief Vance says doctors will likely keep Tripp in a coma for several weeks so he can heal, and they don't know what kind of condition he'll be in when he wakes up.
"He is one of the best people you'd want to meet. Firefighters look up to him. He helps mentor and train firefighters.”
Vance says Tripp is considered a paid, on-call firefighter.
He performs his firefighting duties part-time on top of working a full-time job in the construction field and is also a father to three sons.
Vance says the fire department's insurance policy is covering Tim's medical bills and workers comp is covering his lost wages — but they don't cover everything. That's why he's so relieved to see the community stepping in with an overwhelming amount of donations for his family.
As of Friday at 5 p.m., a GoFundMe page for Tim Tripp had already brought in more than $33,000.
"It lets them know that the community cares and it's one less thing to worry about so they can focus on his recovery."
Vance says this outpouring of support is also sending a strong message to his firefighters, who’ve had a difficult week responding to 911 calls while dealing with a tragedy of their own.
"Immediately there were six different calls right after this happened, just one after another, and our crews continued to respond. It’s been hard at times. It doesn’t stop,” Vance says.
If you'd like to help the department and the Tripp family you can check out their GoFundMe page here.
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