ESTES PARK, Colo. – A rookie Colorado firefighter had a harrowing introduction to the job this week -- watching her own home burn down as she worked to save others.
Emily Franklin, 18, was working in Estes Park -- 50 miles northwest of Denver -- when the heartbreaking turn of fate occurred; but she remained working through the day, ABC News reported.
"This is my first fire and it was my own home," she said. "Great way to kick off a career."
She recalled that as she worked on other homes in the neighborhood, "I look through the trees and see fire going under our deck, and I was like, 'I think that's my house.' It goes up, and I was like, 'That's my house!'"
She said her colleagues did "truly amazing" work, adding, "I think without firefighters, the entire town of Estes would be gone."
More than 3,000 firefighters and other personnel are battling the fires that continue to burn out of control around the state, with hundreds of homes destroyed.
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