Each fall, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) International Burn Camp gives young burn survivors a rare opportunity to connect with peers who understand their experiences – and to build leadership skills that will carry them forward.
The all-expenses-paid, week-long camp, held just outside Washington, D.C., offers participants aged 14-16 an intensive blend of recreational activities, team-building exercises, and leadership training.
The camp’s goal is clear: to help these teens realize they are not alone and to strengthen the support network available to them.
The IAFF works with more than 50 regional burn camps across the U.S. and Canada to identify campers and counselors who exhibit leadership potential and community-mindedness.
Each participating regional camp selects one camper and one counselor to attend the IAFF International Burn Camp.
This year, 41 burn survivors, along with their mentors, gathered for the event.
The volunteer counselors, or “Mentors,” are often fire fighters, burn care specialists, or adult burn survivors themselves.
Many serve as mentors at their regional camps, offering guidance from both a professional and personal perspective.
Their experience is critical in creating a safe, supportive environment where campers can open up, share their stories, and begin to see themselves as leaders.
Created in the mid-1990s, the IAFF camp blends educational, leadership, and traditional “summer” camp components over the course of five days.
The pairs travel to Maryland together, where they are welcomed by fire fighters from the Anne Arundel County Professional Firefighters Burn Foundation, a key supporter of the camp since its inception.
Over the years, the camp has moved from Washington, DC’s 4H Center to the National Labor College and is now hosted at Camp Wabanna in Edgewater, Maryland, allowing for activities like high ropes events, sports, and campfires.
During the week, attendees visit some of the nation’s memorials around D.C., the U.S.
Naval Academy, Arlington National Cemetery, and have an afternoon to choose one of the Smithsonian museums to visit.
While in D.C., the group is hosted by the D.C. Fire Fighters Burn Foundation and the fire fighters at Joint Base Ft. Myer/Henderson Hall.
The volunteer staff focuses on helping the young attendees recognize the leadership and strength they already exhibit in their lives as they navigate high school and begin to think about college and careers.
Activities like name games, which may seem like play at first, teach valuable skills such as quickly matching names and faces in a group setting.
Sharing their stories in front of the group also helps them build confidence and learn public speaking skills.
The IAFF International Burn Camp is made possible through donations from fire service-based burn foundations and other industry supporters.
These contributions help fund the camp and ensure that it remains accessible to burn survivors at no cost to the participants.
For the young survivors who attend, the camp offers much more than just a week away from home.
It provides them with tools to overcome challenges, a renewed sense of purpose, and a broader community of people who understand their journey.
Learn more about Burn Camp at www.IAFFfoundation.org.
This was written in collaboration, with input and edits by Phil Tammaro, IAFF Burn Coordinator and Ryan Heffernan AGP for Communications, International Association of Fire Fighters.
The IAFF Burn Fund provides financial assistance to IAFF members and their immediate families, such as spouses and children, who suffer burn injuries requiring admission to a burn center and leading to financial hardship.
The assistance covers temporary emergency expenses, including travel, housing, food, medical supplies, and other necessary costs.
When a burn injury occurs, the local president must notify the appropriate District Vice President, who informs the Assistant to the General President for the Health, Safety, and Medicine Division, the Chief of Staff, the IAFF Burn Fund Coordinator, and the District Burn Coordinator.
The District Burn Coordinator then communicates with the local’s designated point of contact.
Eligibility for assistance requires that the applicant be a current IAFF member at the time of the burn injury, which must necessitate admission to a burn center.
Minor injuries that do not require admission are not eligible.
Assistance is granted based solely on financial need, as determined by the Chair of the IAFF Foundation after reviewing information submitted by the local president and the District Vice President.
Applications for assistance must be submitted within 14 days of the burn injury using the IAFF Burn Fund Assistance Application Form.
The local president is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the claim before forwarding it to the District Vice President, who submits it for review and final approval by the Chair of the IAFF Foundation.
To support recovery, the IAFF partners with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors to offer the Survivors Offering Assistance to Recovery (SOAR) program.
This peer support initiative connects trained firefighter burn survivors with injured firefighters and their families to aid in the recovery process.
A children’s program is also available to address the well-being and comfort of affected children.
