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KAMAS -- Ask any firefighter to describe what the brotherhood is like between firefighters and chances are they'll take a few seconds before responding.
That's what it was like for Doug Robison, a firefighter with the Unified Fire Authority.
"I could go any place in the country and I honestly feel like if I needed help I could go to a fire station and ask for help," Robison said.
So when the call came that one of their own needed help here in Utah, more than enough volunteers signed up.
"For Dee, I'd jump through hoops to do it. I'd do anything I could," Robison said.
"Dee" is Dee Putnam, a captain with Salt Lake's Unified Fire Authority.
Six weeks ago, he had a simple hernia operation but ended up with difficult complications.
"Mistakes are made in surgery," Putnam said. "They nicked a bowel, so I ended up with a severe case of peritonitis. It's been pretty tough. I'm doing better now, each day is a little better."
Putnam needed 14 surgeries in 16 days and lost 40 pounds in two weeks. That's on top of beating colon cancer twice about six years ago.
"He had done so much to get his health back, and he's battled so much, and then to have this happen right now, it seems like enough for one guy," said Mike Ulibarri, a battalion chief with Unified Fire Authority. "It's just a rough story."
Recently, Putnam told a buddy he needed to get some work done on his Kamas home but wasn't able to. Of course, the word spread like an out-of-control fire.
"When somebody is down, it's time to come together to make sure we're truly together," Ulibarri said.
About a dozen firefighters who knew Putnam came to his home Wednesday morning to mow the lawn, trim the bushes, paint his roof and do other minor chores.
"It's just so important to do it for each other," Robison said.
Putnam wanted to help but his firefighter friends kept telling him to relax.
"It's a brotherhood," Putnam said. "I don't know how else to describe it."
Putnam wants to get back into shape well enough to pass a physical agility test. That means he would rejoin his fire station.
"I'm hoping to do it in two months," Putnam said. "They think I'm going to be as good as gold."
When he's better, Putnam says he can't wait to help another firefighter in need. He feels it's the least he could do.
"They know I would do anything for them at any time," Putnam said.
Doctors think Putnam will make a full recovery, but it could be four to five months before he's back at the fire station full time.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
