Julayne Smithson, RN, an intensive care unit nurse at Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa (Calif.) Medical Center, said she was taking care of a patient late on Oct. 8 when she learned wildfires threatened to engulf her home, according to NPR.
Ms. Smithson, 55, told NPR she had recently moved into her Northern California home. She said she knew the wildfires existed, but didn't know how close they were to the area. One of her fellow nurses relayed the news to her, telling Ms. Smithson her house "[was] not going to make it," the report states.
Ms. Smithson said the toughest part was knowing she hadn't signed up for home insurance yet, meaning she wouldn't be reimbursed for any damage the fires would cause.
"I was so busy working the last couple of weeks that I didn't get my insurance, which I never do. I never ever, ever go uninsured," Ms. Smithson told NPR. "I kept saying, 'Tomorrow, I'm going to do that. Tomorrow, I'm going to do that.'"
After asking a colleague to watch her patient, Ms. Smithson said she raced back to her home to recover whatever items she could. The fires were approximately one block from her house, the report states.
"I knew I didn't have much time," Ms. Smithson said. "So I ran inside and I thought, 'I have to get my nursing documents, because if I'm going to lose everything I own, I have to be able to work, to care for patients.'"
She said she "grabbed the [nursing documents], a pair of scrubs and a nightgown" and raced back to the ICU. During the next two hours, Ms. Smithson said the facility began to fill with smoke.
Kaiser officials issued the decision to temporarily close the hospital Oct. 9. Nearby Sutter Santa Rosa (Calif.) Regional Hospital also closed the same day due to the wildfires.
Kaiser issued a call for volunteer nurses to help at its facilities in San Rafael, Calif. Ms. Smithson responded to the call. She told NPR she's been staying with a nurse colleague and working night shifts in San Rafael to help patients and avoid thinking about everything she lost in the fire, according to the report.