Spencer Tejedas gets hero’s welcome on first day back with Gresham Fire

Published 8:38 am Monday, March 31, 2025

Dozens of Gresham firefighters lined the roadway, clapping and cheering, with beaming smiles, all to give their comrade a hero’s welcome on his first day back.

It was an uproarious celebration in late March for Firefighter Spencer Tejedas as he walked into the Gresham Fire Training Center to take on his administrative role mentoring new recruits.

“It was mixed emotions, a lot of anxiety and nervousness waking up, but it felt right putting the uniform on,” Tejedas said. “I’m excited to see what the future holds for me.

“I have a lot of learning to do, but I can carry on with this good cadre of training staff,” he added.

All of this comes nearly a year after he suffered serious on-duty injuries. It was a long, touch-and-go road to recovery, but the whole time Tejedas spoke about wanting to get back with the department he loves, in whatever capacity he could.

“Spencer’s return is nothing short of extraordinary,” said Chief Derik Minard, who also was enjoying his first official day after serving in the interim. “His courage, perseverance and dedication to this department and community are an inspiration to us all. We are incredibly proud to welcome him back.”

Tejedas suffered burns on more than 45% of his body while responding to a duplex blaze on May 30, 2024. He was with the Station 31 crew and they were the first at the scene. Smoke and flames were billowing out the back of the structure, and a crying woman spurred them into action.

“She said her baby was inside,” Tejedas remembered, putting the firefighters into “rescue mode.”

Tejedas was one of the first inside. There was smoke up to his neck, and a permeating low heat, but nothing seemed out of place. Moving toward the back bedrooms is when things went horribly wrong.

“All of a sudden I got this unsettling feeling in my stomach,” Tejedas said. “The heat overcame me, I felt it on the back of my neck and knew it was bad.”

He shouted, with perhaps a few expletives, he admitted with a grin, to get out.

“The last thing I remember was just fire,” Tejedas said.

They call it a “flash fire,” when there is an unexpected burst of flames within a structure. They are unpredictable and incredibly dangerous. Three firefighters were injured, but Tejedas suffered the brunt.

The heat was so intense it melted the protective gear into his skin. He was rushed by ambulance to undergo immediate emergency surgery. His memory is fragmented, bits and pieces, but he knew his hands were in bad shape. Doctors had to amputate most of his fingers. Then it was weeks of sedation, intubation and rehabilitation.

“They prepared me that he wouldn’t just wake up,” said Melea Tejedas, his wife. “It was gradual, not one moment of, ‘Hey.’”

“It has been hard, sad, but also happy,” she said. “We thought we would lose him.”

Following that long, arduous stint at the Oregon Burn Center, Tejedas was allowed to return home last fall. The best part was being back with his two young sons, William and Charlie.

“My kids and wife, nurses, firefighters, neighbors, everyone who had sacrificed so much for me — I owed it to them to recover,” Tejedas said. “The days are hard but rewarding.”

“I am celebrating the advancements and not dwelling on those setbacks,” he added.

His first week back, in late March, was one of those moments to smile. As soon as he was through the thick of it, Tejedas spoke about wanting to return to the Gresham Fire Department.

“I wouldn’t be here without the support of all my brothers and sisters (in the fire department),” Tejedas said. “I have to find my new normal — it is really good to be back.”

“This is day one, and I am back with my second family,” he added.