Toyota delivers new truck to heroic nurse who helped save others in Camp Fire

Allyn Pierce made it out of the fire. But his beloved truck, which he dubbed the Pandra, almost didn't. Allyn Pierce made it out of the fire. But his beloved truck, which he dubbed the Pandra, almost didn't. Photo: Via Instagram Photo: Via Instagram Image 1 of / 98 Caption Close Toyota delivers new truck to heroic nurse who helped save others in Camp Fire 1 / 98 Back to Gallery

The nurse who was hailed as a hero for helping evacuate patients in his truck during the Camp Fire, posted photos Thursday of his new set of wheels, courtesy of Toyota.

Allyn Pierce evacuated patients and staff from Adventist Health Feather River hospital, where he works as lead nurse in the intensive care unit, the morning the Camp Fire broke out. When he was attempting to leave Paradise himself, he became trapped in gridlock on the way out of town, and thought he wouldn't make it.

Thanks to a miracle, a bulldozer arrived and cleared a path for Pierce and the other drivers. But rather than leave, he returned to the hospital to help newly arrived patients. Pierce credited his Toyota Tundra truck with saving his life, posting a photo of the charred side of his vehicle, which he nicknamed The Pandra, to Instagram.

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"This truck literally saved my life today," Pierce wrote. "My little town of Paradise was literally burning down around me and @the_pandra got me to safety where I could help others...twice."

The social media post caught the attention of Toyota, who promised Pierce a replacement Tundra and delivered a new 2018 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to Pierce. (The new truck can be seen in the third photo on the Instagram post below.)

"Today @toyotausa let me see the people that stand behind the logo," Pierce wrote. "There were handshakes, conversations, and hugs. The sincerity and compassion that's been shown by this company was demonstrated all the way down to a human level."

Toyota offered to take Pierce's burned truck to place on display in its showroom to show off the truck's durability, KRCR reported.

SFGATE writer Alyssa Pereira contributed to this report.

Read Dianne de Guzman's latest stories and send her news tips at ddeguzman@sfchronicle.com.

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