Seven fire victims

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San Diego:

At least seven fire victims are in critical condition, and 10 others are listed in fair to good condition, in the burn unit of UCSD Hospital, Dr. Raul Coimbra, chief of trauma, said today.

Seven of the 17 are firefighters and the rest are civilians. An 18th patient was discharged earlier in the day.

The patients suffered burns on between 2% and 60% of their bodies. Over 40% is considered critical, he said.

Half the patients also suffer from smoke inhalation, which hurts their chances of survival, Coimbra said.

“When you are in a disaster-preparedness area, the type of work you’re doing is always trying to stay ahead of the game,” Coimbra said.

“We’ve been there four years ago [for the devastating 2003 Cedar fire], so this is not new to us,” Coimbra said. “But the difference between then and now, not just for us, but in this whole community, is that things were not as bad as they could have been because we were ready.”

Coimbra added that just a week ago, his staff had staged a practice drill that helped them prepare for this week’s disaster. That drill was a recreation of the Virginia Tech shooting.

-- Ari Bloomekatz