By Allison Rupp
Jackson Hole Star-Tribune

CASPER-NATRONA COUNTY, Wyo. — Marty Thone left a meeting at the Parkway Plaza in July 2005 and noticed smoke billowing from Poor Boys Steakhouse.

"It was 100 degrees," said Thone, with the Casper-Natrona County Health Department. "There was not a breath of wind. I was amazed at the firefighters in their heavy garb. I was sitting there in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and I was dying."

That was when the health department identified a problem it could help solve. Thone, others in the department and volunteers began the Fire Rehabilitation program in the summer of 2006 to "protect those who protect us." Most of those involved are also members of the Natrona County Medical Reserve Corps, a volunteer group that helps out in emergency situations.

Full Story: Health department protects local firefighters