RELATED STORY: 1 Firefighter Remains in Hospital After Blaze Started by Cigarette

This is just hearsay, mind you, but a few sources close to the career firefighter who sustained the most injuries in Sunday’s fire tell me this young man has a long recovery ahead of him. He’s recently received a skin graft and is undergoing physical therapy.

Mary L. Maguire, spokeswoman for Loudoun Fire and Rescue, would not comment on the firefighters' injuries or treatments, other than confirming that one firefighter still remains hospitalized at the Washington Hospital Center Burn Center in serious, but stable condition.

The two-alarm fire, which ignited Sunday in a Leesburg single-family home, injured five Loudoun firefighters and one Loudoun rescue worker. Damage to the structure is estimated at $600,000. It was determined that the blaze was caused by smoking materials.

Many concerned folks have asked why the names of the injured firefighters have not been released. Maguire said Chief Joseph E. Pozzo does not want the names made public out of respect to the firefighters and their families as they focus on their health and recovery.

One such way to lend support, Maguire said, is by donating to the DC Firefighter’s Burn Foundation. This organization was established in 2004 to assist local fire and rescue personnel and their families during times of crisis.

When Loudoun firefighters were admitted to the hospital this week, DCFBF provided their families with hotel rooms and food. One woman in the know told me that members of DCFBF even met the transport helicopter as it landed at Washington Hospital Center, and the foundation arranged an inspirational visit from a DC firefighter who’s back on duty after recovering from the same type of burns as the ones our hospitalized Loudoun firefighter sustained.

“This is hard on a family,” said Jimmy DiGregory, vice president of DCFBF and a 21-year career firefighter in DC. “Our main goal is to make sure the families are well taken care of so they are able to provide care and support for their injured loved ones.”

Donations to DCFBF will also be accepted this Sunday at the Ashburn Volunteer Fire Department’s monthly pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon.

Maguire said another organization to consider supporting is the Valor Foundation of Loudoun County. Private donations to VFLC go to help Loudoun’s sheriff, fire, rescue and police organizations where, as the Web site states, “needs surpass public resources.”

A blood drive in honor of the injured firefighters is also being organized for June 21 -- time and location not yet determined.

And the ultimate way to honor these firefighters, officials say, is to become a volunteer yourself.