Injured Modesto firefighter in a coma

The veteran Modesto firefighter who fell through the roof of a burning building late Friday is in a medically induced coma and likely will be hospitalized for more than a month, fire officials said Monday.

Doctors in the burn unit at the University of California at Davis Medical Center say Jim Adams, a 24-year veteran of the Modesto Fire Department, suffered more serious burns than originally thought, Modesto City Firefighters Association president Cecil Ridge said Monday.

"The good news is that his internal organs are functioning correctly and he's breathing," Ridge said in a phone interview from the UC Davis burn unit. "The bad news is it's significantly worse than we expected."

The other firefighter injured in the blaze, Jason Clevenger, is expected to be released from Doctors Medical Center in Modesto in several days. He may be transferred to the UC Davis burn center to consult with burn specialists, Battalion Chief Hugo Patino said.

Clevenger, 32, is alert and in good spirits, Patino said. "He wants to get back at it as soon as he can," Patino said. Clevenger was burned over 10 percent of his body.

Doctors at first thought Adams, 46, had burns on about 30 percent of his body. Now they say Adams suffered third-degree burns — the most serious kind — on close to 50 percent of his body, including both hands, Ridge said.

Adams is on a ventilator in a medically induced coma. The coma is meant to keep Adams' body at rest so he can heal, Ridge said. Adams had surgery Monday morning that allowed doctors to evaluate his burns, Ridge said.

Adams is a married father of two adult sons. He received a medal of valor for an act of heroism after a 2000 fire in west Modesto that endangered a 10,000 gallon propane tanker.

"He's one of our best at what he does," Ridge said. "It's difficult to see somebody as strong and healthy as he was, to have this happen to him."

Ridge and other firefighters are taking turns driving to Sacramento to lend whatever support they can to Adams' family. They're not the only ones reaching out. Fire departments from across the country have sent messages of support. A Facebook page dedicated to the injured firefighters has more than 1,000 members.

Retirees share their stories

Retired fire captains from Sacramento and Stockton who've suffered burn injuries met with the Adams and Clevenger families to tell them what to expect on the road to recovery.

One was Oscar Barrera, who was burned in a 1997 house fire that killed two Stockton firefighters. In that case, a homeowner had installed a heavy dance floor on the second floor of her house. It collapsed on firefighters, who were unaware of the threat hanging over their heads, Ridge said.

The fatal Stockton fire is an example of how unpredictable firefighting is, Ridge said.

So was Friday's fire.

The accident happened just six minutes after firefighters arrived at 2308 Coston Ave. and found a single-family home swallowed by smoke.

Clevenger and Adams climbed a ladder to the garage roof to perform a procedure called vertical ventilation, Patino said. The idea is to cut a hole in the roof of a burning building to release pent-up toxic gases, smoke and heat.

"It's like popping a blister," Ridge said.

The hole acts like a chimney, sucking out smoke, which improves visibility for firefighters or anyone trapped in the fire.

"There are times you can hardly see your hand in front of your face, and the sound of the fire is like a freight train, and things are falling and cracking and breaking, and above you, you're hoping to hear that sound of that chain saw so they can cut that hole," Patino said.