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Lifestyle & Human Interest

Nurse Whose Truck Was Torched During Wildfire Rescues Has New Truck 'Burned' to Match

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Allyn Pierce, a nurse who helped evacuate hospital patients during the Camp Fire of 2018, is sporting a brand-new truck with a customized paint job to match the charred Toyota Tundra that he credited with saving his life.

It was Nov. 8, 2018, when Pierce risked his life by driving his truck through the fiery inferno in Paradise, California, in order to get hospital patients to safety.

Pierce thought he would lose his life that day, as he watched the flames surround his truck, trapped on all sides.

“I was like, ‘I think I’m done,'” Pierce later told The New York Times. “I just kept thinking, ‘I’m going to die in melting plastic.”‘

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByrZprrgImT/

Pierce credited his tough-as-nails Toyota pickup truck, which he affectionately called “The Pandra” due to it’s panda-like appearance, for keeping him alive that day.

The Toyota Tundra emerged from the flames with battle scars of its own — charred doors in deep black and brown colors that made the white truck resemble a campfire marshmallow.

When Toyota USA heard of Pierce’s story, the company offered to replace the truck with a brand new one.

True to its word, Toyota USA honored Pierce’s heroic efforts by gifting the nurse a brand new white Tundra TRD Pro, Fox News reported.



But the pristine white Tundra TRD Pro, dubbed the Pandra Pro, would not stay white for long.

Rockstar Garage, the automotive builder affiliated with Rockstar Energy Drink, had big plans to give the truck a paint job that would pay tribute to its predecessor.



A team of automotive specialists in Murrieta, California, painted the new truck to look burnt, with golden-colored paint along the sides and back panels of the vehicle and deep, charred black at the bottom.

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The team proudly called this look the “Toasted Marshmallow,” and judging from the side-by-side comparison to the original, they nailed it.



In addition to the paint job, the Pandra Pro got new 40-inch tires, lifting it a head above the older model.

According to Fox News, the original truck still runs, and looks just as it did the day it proudly emerged from the fire.

Hopefully, Pierce will not have a reason to test this new truck in a forest fire, but instead, will enjoy many new adventures.

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A graduate of Grand Canyon University, Kim Davis has been writing for The Western Journal since 2015, focusing on lifestyle stories.
Kim Davis began writing for The Western Journal in 2015. Her primary topics cover family, faith, and women. She has experience as a copy editor for the online publication Thoughtful Women. Kim worked as an arts administrator for The Phoenix Symphony, writing music education curriculum and leading community engagement programs throughout the region. She holds a degree in music education from Grand Canyon University with a minor in eating tacos.
Birthplace
Page, Arizona
Education
Bachelor of Science in Music Education
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Lifestyle & Human Interest




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