Elgin chiropractor wants to give back after escaping fire

Elgin chiropractor Dana Landin didn't think he'd be around today.

Trapped last week on the second floor of his burning office building, Landin said, he figured his time had come.

"The windows were double-paned glass," said Landin, a doctor at AcuCare Chiropractic Clinic. "The building was filling up with smoke so quickly, I wasn't convinced I was getting out."

But Landin did get out, smashing a window with a wooden chair and jumping out onto the roof of a police SUV parked below.

"I was smashing the chair through the glass and it wasn't breaking," he said. "I had to hit that window five or six times before it started to do anything. It was in that last moment that I didn't think I was getting out."

Landin credits emergency responders with helping him crack the window from the outside, and pulling up the SUV so he had a place to land when he jumped.

He also says they are the ones who alerted him to the fire, after he initially called police to report strange noises at the building.

"I heard a big bang and a crash in the hallway, then a second one," Landin said. "I closed door thinking it was vandalism. The police were there quickly. They're the ones who told me my building was on fire."

Now Landin said he wants to give back to the emergency personnel who helped him escape.

Landin is calling December "rescue workers appreciation month," and offering certificates for free half-hour massages to any emergency personnel who come in for an evaluation at his clinic's temporary location, 1814 Grandstand Place, Elgin.

"The police and the fire (personnel) were incredible," he said. "I kind of have a motto in my office: love all, serve all. I think they deserve an opportunity for me to serve them."

Landin is also extending his gratitude to new patients.

During the month of December, he is waiving all of their exam and report fees, and offering half off any of their X-ray costs.

In other words, a service that would normally run $265 will only cost $70 for new patients.

In addition, Landin said, he will donate a Christmas gift to Elgin's Larkin Center in honor of each new patient who comes to his office.

"My whole business is about serving people," Landin said. "The police department and the fire department served me in a way that I'll never forget. A grateful heart wants to pay it forward."

To reach AcuCare, call (847) 888-3131, or visit them at www.chirolandin.com.