Survivor Profile - Gwen Linski

My Story

We all have one story that is entrenched deep within our souls. 
Mine is the story of a thirty-two-year-old firefighter with seven years service and his twenty-eight year-old wife who, following the birth of a healthy child had first a miscarriage and then a stillborn baby boy.

Happily, on March 8, 1972, our four year-old son, finally got to hold his new baby sister.

Days later on the 15th of March, a ruptured gas line below the street outside our home filled our home with gas;  the frozen ground filtering out the telltale odor.  On that particular morning, while attempting to do a load of laundry, a spark from the light switch created a flash fire all around the electrical panel above the washer and the floor joists of the exterior walls.

With the children taken to safety, and a call to 911, I with a friend managed to put out the flashing fire.  Emergency crews of firefighters and the gas company found no evidence or reason for the fire and assured us that there were no safety concerns and would check in the following day.  

That night we accepted an invitation for dinner with the fire chief, and the entire family enjoyed an evening out for three hours.  On our return tired and exhausted, from night duty, my husband Bill went to bed, while I nursed my new baby girl who was happily put to bed.  I went to the living room for a quiet moment and light a cigarette. 

The match immediately flared up, and without warning, the air exploded, turning the house into a fiery inferno ….a living hell!  I crawled my way out of the house, and Bill landed on the back landing, while attempts to get the children out were impossible with the massive explosion that took place.

Robert William Linski and eight-day-old Angela Dawn Linski both died from heat and smoke inhalation. 

Bill and I were severely burnt with extensive 2nd and 3rd degree burns to over 70% of my body with months of hospitalization (in separate facilities) followed by physical therapy and endless treatments.

The choice to give up and be with our children would have been easy.  The choice to live took all the strength and courage that one could possess.

We dealt with the stares and whispers given the extensive skin grafts along with the emotional ripple effects of that day that last a lifetime.

Our bodies began to heal on the outside… but what about inside?  How do you heal the brokenness of one’s heart and soul?  The emotional trauma of the loss of a child, limbs, function and identity is massive. 

However - out of the ashes many blessings have been bestowed on us, one of which was the gift of adoption and the ability to have one more child. Brandi-Lee and her husband Collin along with their daughter Nyla are now awaiting a baby brother in June, while our son Todd is an entrepreneur and thriving in the Kootenays.  My husband of 43 years and best friend firefighter Lieutenant Bill Linski died on December 15, 2007, leaving behind his family, friends and colleagues with a profound legacy of courage and Brotherhood.

Now for me it is about yet another New Beginning…

We have the choice to become the very best that we can be with what we have now.  The body is just a shell that houses the individual parts together, as true beauty lies within!

All the fires of hell cannot destroy that beauty when we make that choice… the choice to live.

I am proud to be the BC Representative for the Vancouver Island adult burn community, working with the BCPFF Burn Fund/The Future Is Mine, as well as The Compassionate Friends (helping bereaved parents and surviving children) – it is about making a difference – and it is about looking to the future.

Top Left Photo: Robert William Linski; Top Right Photo: Angela Dawn Linski Bottom Photo: Bill and Gwen Linski with their children, Brandi-Lee and Todd

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