A Slow Healing : Children Return to Topanga School; Firefighters Befriend a Hospitalized Boy

They said hello at Topanga Elementary School on Tuesday, and goodby at the Sherman Oaks Community Hospital Burn Center.

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One week after a vicious fire threatened Topanga Canyon, forcing classrooms to evacuate, students at Topanga Elementary returned to their campus, eager to put the terrifying ordeal behind them.

Meanwhile, at the burn center, 4-year-old Kenny Mounts, a patient whose loneliness had been eased by the arrival of a handful of firefighters hospitalized after being burned fighting the Southland wildfires--bid farewell to some of the firemen. They were preparing to go home; Kenny, who has been in and out of the burn center since June, recovering from second- and third-degree burns he suffered when his shirt caught fire while he played with a lighter, was returning Tuesday for outpatient treatment.

Outside the Topanga classrooms, parents and children swapped stories, the vivid memories of the fire lingering like the smell of smoke in the still air.

“We didn’t lose anything,” said Lisa Jehle after dropping off her second-grade son. “Except our peace of mind.”

Topanga, the only Los Angeles Unified School District campus to be evacuated during two weeks of fires that raged across the Southland, was abuzz as administrators, parents and a team of crisis counselors from the district met to assess the psychological scars left behind.

The school was evacuated Nov. 2 as smoke and flames engulfed the Red Rock area of Topanga in full view of the playground. About 300 students left their classrooms and lined up outside to wait for a ride to safer ground. One teacher, Ann Stalcup, lost a lifetime of folk art and costumes when her Malibu house burned to the ground. But according to the school’s principal, Steven Friedman, none of the students lost their homes.

Still, “it was really scary,” said third-grader Johnny Pease, remembering the evacuation. “I thought the school was going to burn.”

At least one child, 9-year-old Noah Kaplan, lost more than a sense of security.

“My grandma’s house in Malibu is total ashes,” said Noah, a fourth-grader. “I’m really sad about it because I lived there for eight years.”

Inside the burn center, Kenny Mounts sat on the lap of Los Angeles City Fire Capt. Mike Rodriguez, who is recovering from injuries he suffered when a red-hot nail burned through the sole of his boot as he battled the Altadena fire. Rodriguez had taken to reading bedtime stories to the youngster last week, when Kenny was hospitalized for reconstructive surgery.

Seeing the boy, who had been hospitalized for months with burns over 30% of his body, “really kind of tore my heart a little bit,” Rodriguez explained. “So I went in and told him that I was a fireman and that I wanted to be his friend.”

Rodriguez, who is expected to be released as early as Friday, said Kenny’s strength made him look at his own injuries in a different light.

“I’m kind of a short-timer here. I’m gonna be in and out,” the 19-year firefighter said. “If this little tiger can make it, boy, this is the best place in the world to come.”

Rita Mounts, Kenny’s grandmother, said the boy and Rodriguez became fast friends.

“They visited a lot and they had a good time,” she said. “He’s happier and not so fearful of the hospital.”

Kenny clutched a stuffed Dalmatian toy that was given to him by another firefighter, Cleveland Tipton, one of four firefighters recovering at the burn center after being overcome by smoke and flames in the Oct. 27. Chatsworth blaze.

The boy appeared shy and somewhat frightened by a brace of television cameras and reporters’ questions, but the kindness of the firefighters apparently made a lasting impression on the him.

“I wanna be a fireman,” he said softly from beneath the brim of the yellow firefighter’s helmet that sat loosely on his small head. “I wanna get out the fires.”