For Robert Gentile, it's been eight years since he stepped out of his comfort zone. Eight years since he took a step towards enjoying his life again after being injured battling a fire that cost him his mobility in his left leg.
A thrill-seeker at heart, Gentile enjoyed the outdoors from hiking to mountain biking to seeking adventure with his family. Gentile worked for Cal Fire in the Shasta Trinity Unit. In September 2012, he and his crew responded to a small fire on a hillside area in Trinity County.
"It was just a small fire in Trinity County. We had injured a couple of firefighters that night just by shale coming down, hitting people," Gentile said. One of the shale boulders traveling down the hillside came towards him, hitting his quad then ricocheting off his knee leaving permanent damage to his left leg. Gentile now wears a prosthetic brace that goes from my hip to his heel.