A Toy for Jacob : Thanks to Firefighters, 5-Year-Old Burn Victim Enjoys Special Day

Jacob Herrmann, 5, maneuvered his new toy fire engine in front of paramedic Bob Gaughran and squirted him in the leg with a toy fire hose.

Then, with a triumphant “ha ha,” Jacob sped away, testing his new battery-operated vehicle in the back yard of Orange County Fire Station 9 in Mission Viejo.

That was exactly the reaction firefighters and paramedics had hoped for when they decided to buy the miniature engine for Jacob, who in September was badly burned over 30% of his body when he pulled a pot of boiling water off the stove in his Laguna Niguel home.

Firefighters from Station 9 and paramedics from Medic 7 in San Juan Capistrano who responded to the Sept. 28 accident have been keeping tabs on Jacob’s progress, and on Wednesday Jacob was treated to a tour of Station 9, where firefighters let him suit up in fire gear, hold hoses and sit in the driver’s seat of a real fire truck.

But his face grew the brightest when firefighters wheeled out the red plastic truck--lights flashing and siren blaring--and handed him an Orange County Junior Firefighter patch.

Jacob suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns on the left side of his body and had to undergo painful hydrotherapy and skin grafts at the UCI Burn Center in Orange, where he stayed for 7 weeks. He also had to return to the hospital when he developed an infection and had to have additional skin grafts.

“He’s undergone a lot of stuff, and we heard he had to spend his fifth birthday in the hospital,” said David Boyd, a paramedic who responded to the call with Gaughran. “Some of the firemen called him up to see how he was doing, and we were told it was one of the first times he smiled because he liked firemen, so we wanted to do something for him.”

Jacob cannot ride a bicycle because of the stiffness he still suffers from his injuries, so the firefighters decided the toy truck would be the perfect alternative for an active youngster.

The $300 to buy the toy fire engine and a helmet came from donations by firefighters, staff at Mission Regional Hospital and Medical Center, and the fire department’s Operation Santa Claus, which provides donated toys to needy children.

Jacob’s father, Jim, said his son was “a little overwhelmed” by all the attention.

Sisters ‘a Little Jealous’

“He’s been getting a lot of special attention lately,” said Herrmann, adding that Jacob’s 7- and 8-year-old sisters had become a little jealous. “But they realize what he has to deal with and want to help him.”

Herrmann said Jacob’s 13-year-old brother, Alan, who called paramedics when the accident occurred, also helps Jacob exercise his left arm to ease the tautness of the skin grafts.

Jacob, wearing a Roger Rabbit sweat shirt, was a boy of few words Wednesday.

“What do you think of all this?” asked his mother Barbara.

“Fun!” he said and jumped into her arms.

The smile said it all. He wasn’t the only one smiling.