This Was The Right Place
Victor’s experience at Phoenix World Burn Congress
Victor and his wife, Sharon, with Phoenix WBC Keynote Speaker and fellow burn survivor, Eduardo Garcia.
The fire happened on September 26, 2024.
Victor woke to a loud noise. When he opened the bedroom door, the hallway and stairway were already filled with thick, black smoke and fire. He closed the door and started yelling for his kids.
He ran to his 15-year-old daughter’s room. She jumped into his arms immediately. He carried her back, shielding her from the flames, and got her to his bedroom, where his wife was waiting. With no other way out, they jumped from a second-story window onto the concrete below.
Then Victor went for his 13-year-old son. The fire had already climbed into his closet. Victor broke the window with his fists, climbed onto a narrow ledge, and pulled his son through. The heat was intense. He couldn’t lower him safely—so he jumped, landing hard on the deck below.
They all made it out.
Victor’s home after the fire.
Victor & his family on the burn unit.
When Victor agreed to attend the Phoenix World Burn Congress about 13 months after the accident, he wasn’t sure it was something he was ready for. He felt nervous. Unsure. He admits he tried to find reasons not to go.
What he found there surprised him.
The sessions that stayed with him most were the support groups. He attended the men’s group—about 30 men in one room, sharing openly, without needing to explain themselves.
“It was just a space to let everything out,” Victor said. “I think we all needed that.”
No single moment stood out. No single person.
It was the group as a whole.
Being in that room reminded him that recovery doesn’t happen in isolation. That what comes after the fire can feel just as heavy—and that he wasn’t alone in carrying it.
Victor left the week feeling changed. Not fixed. Not finished. But steadier.
“Surviving a fire left me feeling hollow. I’m still working on filling that space.”
He also left feeling motivated—to keep healing, and to help others when he can. To share his story, even when it’s hard.
“The support from the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation means everything to us,” Victor said. “Attending was something I really needed.”
His message to other burn survivors is simple: “Go. Sometimes the experience isn’t just for your healing. Sometimes your story helps someone else.”
For Victor, Phoenix World Burn Congress wasn’t about answers or milestones.
It was about being in the right place—at the right time—with people who understood.
That kind of moment only happens when someone is given the chance to be there.
Because showing up matters.
