Excerpts from wgntv.com:

A southwest suburban community is banding together to support a firefighter and his family after he was seriously injured battling a blaze in the area a couple of weeks ago.

Robert’s Park FPD Lt. Clint Sanders was injured while fighting a house fire in Justice just a couple of days after Christmas, and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. While he suffered third-degree burns on his hands, and first- and 2nd-degree burns on his face, doctors told his family it could’ve been much worse had it not been for his signature sideburns.

Now those iconic sideburns are a cause for celebration, recreated on T-shirts worn by his friends and family to a packed fundraiser in Hickory Hills held in his honor Sunday.

There’s no word on when Sanders will be out of the hospital, but he’s expected to make a full recovery in time. And when he’s ready, the nearly 30-year veteran of the department will be welcomed back to the district.

Tags: firefighter suffers life threatening burns during Justice house fire, injured firefighter expected to make a full recovery, Roberts Park Fire Protection District, Roberts Park FPD Lieutenant Clint Sanders