Firefighter Ryan Welch

On July 10th Ryan Welch was 20 minutes into his shift as a Volunteer Firefighter when the call came in for a natural gas leak. 

As the team discovered that this was a highly dangerous situation, they evacuated a block of Downtown Sun Prairie.  Two In, Two Out, in teams they worked to shut off the gas in the century old buildings. Two In, Ryan and Capt. Cory Barr got all the gas shut off and walked out of the Barr House, job well done. Two Out.

Then the building exploded.

We lost Cory.  Ryan is still with us, but has a long road ahead.  Volunteer Firefighters are regular people, with regular jobs, who do extraordinary things just to give back to the community.  Ryan is a mechanic, he works with his hands.  His face is burned, his jaw is broken in several places, he lost teeth, his hands are injured.  A building fell on him, but he was up walking (with help) the next day.

Please give what you can to help Ryan and his family while he's trying to get back to work. He won't ask for himself, but he will climb stairs for any charity, just ask him.  He won't tell you he's hurting, but he would pull you from the wreckage.  We won't let you know he's a softy, but he will (I have pictures) make sure to save a kitten from a fire.