10News
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A hero firefighter is speaking out for the first time since a Christmas Eve pardon by California Gov. Jerry Brown.
10News first introduced you to an injured Brooke Linman in 2007 after she was credited with helping save a teenager’s life during the Harris Fire. Clutching a charred badge, Linman sat down with 10News reporter Michael Chen in 2007 while still recovering from serious burns and skin grafts. On the first day of the Harris Fire, she and a small group of California Department of Forestry firefighters were in Potrero, evacuating Thomas Varshock and his teenage son, Richard, when flames overran the engine.
“We all had to pick what piece of fire we were going to run through, and that’s what we did,” Linman said in the 2007 interview. Varshock died, but his son would survive, with Linman being recognized for her actions in helping save his life. Now, Linman is talking about the program that saved her own life some two decades earlier.
Full story: Hero firefighter Brooke Linman talks about Gov. Jerry Brown’s pardon, overcoming her past