Burn Bulletin

The foundation had a great time visiting our firefighter partners and acknowledging their financial support of AARBF through a series of regional burn relays.

On October 10th, Daniel Chacon and Erika Mendoza teamed up with Brian Leathers and Megan Leathers at the Central Coast Relay. The relay went to thirteen different elementary schools and one head start along with our eleven participating fire departments to teach quick burn prevention tips children. We reached around 4500 students throughout the day as well as children attending the San Luis Obispo Farmer’s Market which was our final stop. Five Cities Fire Department, Morro Bay Fire Department, San Luis Obispo Fire Department, Templeton Fire Department, Atascadero Fire Department, Santa Margarita Fire Department, Paso Robles Fire Department, San Miguel Fire Department, CAL Fire San Luis Obispo, Cambria Fire Department, and San Luis Obispo Fire Chiefs Association.

On October 25th, Daniel Chacon and Martha Banks visited Downey Fire, Manhattan Beach Fire, Arcadia Fire, Monrovia Fire, and Torrance Fire for the SoCal Burn Relay. While these agencies have continued to support AARBF, this was the first time we have hosted the SoCal Burn Relay since before the pandemic.

On October 28th – 30th, Daniel Chacon was in the bay area with Erika Mendoza for the Peninsula Relay, East Bay Relay, and North Bay Relay. We visited twenty-three fire agencies over the three-day period. Sunnyvale Fire Department, Mountain View Fire Department, Moffet Field/NASA Ames Fire Department, Palo Alto Fire Department, Menlo Park Fire Department, Central County Fire Department, South San Francisco Fire Department, Colma Fire Protection District, Alameda Fire Department, Albany Fire Department, Sonoma County Fire Protection District, Graton Fire Department, Sebastopol Fire Department, Santa Rosa Fire Department, Rohnert Park Fire Department, Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District, Petaluma Fire Department, Novato Fire Protection District, San Rafael Fire Department, Ross Valley Fire Department, Kentfield Fire Protection District, Central Marin Fire Department, and Southern Marin Fire Protection District.

On October 12th, Badfish Beer hosted a Beerfest to raise funds for AARBF and Champ Camp. By the end of the evening, they raised enough money to send twelve kids to the 40th Champ Camp in 2025. Thank you to Edward Bird of Badfish for your support.

The SoCal Burn Ride revved up its engines for a good cause on Oct. 26. Motorcyclists gathered at the Lakeside Pavilion of Conejo Creek North Park in Thousand Oaks for a scenic two-hour ride organized to raise funds for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation.

Opening ceremonies began at 9 a.m., with a Presentation of Colors by the 205th Battalion, California Cadet Corps, Pacoima Middle School, and the singing of the National Anthem by a vocalist with the Seal Beach Symphony. Speakers included Daniel Chacon, executive director of the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, and burn survivor and volunteer Paul Harris.

Then it was kickstands up at 10 a.m. Riders covered 60 miles in all, traveling past Point Mugu State Park, along the Pacific Coast Highway and through the Santa Monica Mountains. The ride began and ended at Conejo Creek Park, with an afterparty at 12 p.m. that featured a variety of vendors, live music, food by Taco Loco and “Ride N Repeat” photos courtesy of photographer Jeff Thomas of Turn N Burn Magazine. The event also featured raffles for fantastic prizes and a motorcycle simulator presented by Apex Studio 66 out of Santa Clarita.

The SoCal Burn Ride was founded in 2014 by burn survivor Trevor Holtan and U.S. Marine Corps Major David Kuntz as a way to support burn survivors in California through the work of the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. Proceeds from the Oct. 26 ride will go toward Champ Camp.

(story courtesy of Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer of vcreporter)

From November 1st through November 22nd our Central Valley Partners will be collecting toys for the Central Valley Holiday Toy Drive.  We are excited to partner with the Central Valley Firefighters Credit Union, Sierra High CSF, Coalinga Fire Department, the Leon S Peters Burn Unit at CRMC, and the Fresno City College Fire Academy Class 62.

How can you support this effort? You can drop off new unwrapped toys at four locations across the Valley. All donations will be given to Central Valley burn survivors and their families at the AARBF-CRMC Holiday Party.

Drop off locations: Central Valley Firefighters Credit Union, 5300 N. Fresno Street, Fresno; FCC Fire Academy 3300 E North Ave, Fresno; Sierra High School CSF, 33326 Lodge Road, Tollhouse; Coalinga Fire Department, 300 W Elm Ave, Coalinga.

For more information about efforts in the Central Valley, please contact Katrina Arthur karthur@aarbf.org.Not in the Central Area but wish to support AARBF this holiday season, please reach out to Michael Knopf mknopf@aarbf.org for Northern California and Martha Banks mbanks@aarbf.org for Southern California.

The messages used throughout the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation’s educational programs, curricula, and handouts equip fire and life safety educators with accurate and consistent language for communicating safety information as part of the Firefighters in Safety Education (FISE) program.

AARBF is committed to periodically reviewing our fire and burn safety education messages to ensure the highest level of safety education in our programming. We are currently reaching out to our FISE Partner Agencies to request feedback on the current FISE script and key points. As essential presenters, their insights are invaluable in identifying any missing or outdated information.If you are a representative of a FISE Agency, you are invited to share your thoughts with the AARBF team: https://forms.gle/ZN7VimcxiVpyCR2V9.

The Paso Robles Firefighters Association hosted their annual 9/11 stair climb event this year on Saturday, September 14th. This year’s event was opened up to the local community and they had close to 60 people in attendance who climbed the equivalent of 110 stories at the Paso Robles Event Center. The 9/11 stair climb pays tribute to those heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice on that fateful day. This year, Paso Robles Firefighters found it truly special to engage with their local community members who walked side by side sharing this experience.

“This is our second annual 9/11 stair climb here in Paso Robles, put on by the Paso Robles Fire Association and assisted by the San Miguel Fire Association,” said Dustin Virgil, a firefighter paramedic for the City of Paso Robles Fire Department and the event organizer. “This year we are excited as we’ve opened it up to the public. Here we are 23 years later, still honoring them.”

The 9/11 stair climb event was also an opportunity for the Paso Robles Firefighters Association to raise funds for AARBF and Champ Camp. Their event will sponsor a child to attend our 40th Champ Camp being held in June of 2025.

The 14th Annual Dinner & Dance was a huge success – raising $51,000 for AARBF and Champ Camp in a single night. Our Central Valley Community gathered at the newly renovated Clovis Rodeo Grounds for an evening filled with good food, Valley Famous Cressman’s Cookies, a Silent Auction, and an exciting Live Auction. Volunteers from Clovis North Baseball, Girls Basketball, Fresno Fire Explorers, and the Fresno City College Fire Academy, Class 62 were all essential in helping set up and serve during the event. AARBF would like to thank all of our attendees and our Gold Sponsor: RMC Constructors; the Silver Sponsors: Fresno Fire Local 202, Central Valley Trailer Repair, and PolyNovo as well as our wine and beer sponsors Corner 103 and Summer Fox Brewing.

We hope to see you next year. Mark your Calendars now for November 22, 2025.

Check out all of the great photobooth photos in our Waldo photo album: https://waldo.photos/galleries/o/album/213ViE9E6wBmdGPZVGuFUNu

If you attended the Dinner & Dance, please upload your photos from this event.

On Friday, September 27, South San Francisco Firefighter’s Charitable Foundation hosted their 9th Annual Bocce Ball Tournament at the Orange Memorial Park Bocce Ball Courts. We had a great time. AARBF’s Daniel Chacon and volunteer Clark “Grizzy” Stern had a great time visiting with the teams and sharing information about the foundation! Proceeds from this event will benefit AARBF’s programs and services.

From September 28th to October 4th, AARBF had the amazing opportunity to send a teen Champ Camp camper and a counselor to attend the IAFF Burn Camp in Edgewater, MD.

This annual week-long camp, hosted by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), brings together burn survivor teens from all over the US and Canada. This year, our very own Alana and Blossom joined 40 other burn survivors and counselors for a week filled with confidence building and community bonding. They also had the chance to visit different historic sites in Washington D.C. and Annapolis.

Blossom, Alana and Alana’s mom shared their thoughts on this experience: “Being able to go to this camp and connect with people from all of the US and Canada to build new friendships and memories was truly an experience I won’t ever forget.” “We were truly honored and privileged to attend” “I am very grateful”.