The foundation is asking for your help in assisting one of our own members.  On March 3, 2010 Lieutenant Paul O'Conner Engine 8 #1 and his family lost their home along with all of their belongings to a house fire.  Paul is a member of the foundation and over the years has generously donated time and money to help others in need.  Paul is not only a veteran member of the District of Columbia Fire Department but also volunteers his time serving his neighbors with the North Beach Volunteer Fire Department.  Paul is also the owner and captain of Bay Hog Fishing Charters.

To make a donation please make checks payable to Paul O'Conner and mail them to the foundation's address listed on the website.  For more information on how you can help please contact Kyle Kendrick at 301-602-3199 or kyle.kendrick@dc.gov.

The North Beach Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a St. Patrick's Day Dance and Dinner to benefit the O'Conners.  The Benefit will be Saturday March 13, 2010 starting at 8:00 PM.  The benefit will be at the North Beach Volunteer Fire House in North Beach, MD.  There is a $25 cover at the door.  Please see the attached flyer.

We would like to thank everyone that participated in the 5th annual Firefighters and Nurses Tournament. This "tournament" was once again a big success. The proceeds from this event go to The Burn Center and our Firefighters Family Services Fund.

For the 5th straight year the winning team was Charlie Rucker, Rhonda Rogers, Monica Bell, Lee Matthews, Robert Duckett, of course the team captain Charlie Florence. Once again they donated their winnings back to the foundation. THANK YOU! The members of Engine 2 and the staff from Med-Star won the best shirts for this years tournament.

Please click on the pictures below to see all of the photos.

friendsofrigby.org/



The need for fire safety and awareness on college campuses across the country has become more apparent in the past decade with numerous instances of preventable loss. Using the passing of close friend Daniel H. Rigby in such an accident as motivation, The Friends of Rigby Foundation, Inc. seeks to establish a network of financial and organizational support to educate and assist students at colleges and universities across the country.



Five years ago, Daniel Rigby passed away during a fire in his off-campus apartment in Georgetown.  Since his passing in October 2004, two of his classmates and his brother, Patrick, established the Friends of Rigby Foundation, Inc. to honor his memory and promote fire safety for students living off-campus in the DC area.  Each year in April, the Friends of Rigby organize the Run4Rigby at Georgetown University.  Support has increased over the past few years from students, administration, residents and leaders of the DC community alike, the foundation has significantly expanded.  Accordingly, the Run4Rigby has evolved into Rigby Weekend, with a Black-tie gala, "Rigby Ball", held the evening of the run at Thunder Grille in Union Station.  Like the Run4Rigby, the Rigby Ball has also significantly increased, both in attendance and donations.



The primary objective is to build a connection between local firefighters and students to provide such necessities as fire inspections, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers in the hopes of increasing fire safety.



A secondary goal of the Foundation is to establish a new scholarship in Danny’s name at his alma mater, Bergen Catholic High School, and to establish and maintain a similar scholarship at Georgetown University. Both scholarships seek to reward underprivileged students who gain admission to Georgetown University and Bergen Catholic but require financial scholarship assistance. The scholarships will support one student for four full years of education at Bergen and at Georgetown. As the endowments grow, we will seek to support one student per year at each grade level. The scholarships will be awarded based on completion of various financial forms such as the FAFSA, acceptance to the schools indicated, completion of the provided forms, a(n) interview(s), and any other measures deemed necessary by the Foundation.



The Date of this years 5K Run and Gala is Saturday, April 10, 2010.

2004
The Burn Center          $5,000


2005
The Burn Center          $12,000
Children’s Burn Camp   $3,000


2006
The Burn Center          $47,500
Children’s Burn Camp   $5,000
Children’s Hospital      $6,000


2007
The Burn Center          $60,000
Children’s Burn Camp   $10,526
Children’s Hospital      $4,000


2008
The Burn Center          $111,023
Children’s Burn Camp   $9,978
Children’s Hospital      $30,000


2009
The Burn Center          $156,457
Children’s Burn Camp   $14,502


2010
Initial Donation for The Burn Center for 2010 $76,000


Total Donations Since September of 2004 


$551,986

The D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation would like to say thank you to the members of the New York City Firefighters Burn Center Foundation for their generous gift of $5,000. On January 4, 2010, Billy Leahy, Bill Carlson, Tom Zapf, and Gwen Curran presented us with a check for our 5 year anniversary. This donation was given to the foundation to assist us in our development of a burn survivor support group for specifically for firefighters. 

 
In 2009 the leadership of the foundation hosted a meeting with the staff of The Burn Center, the IAFF, and several firefighter burn survivors from the area along with a few family members. At this meeting we discussed the specific needs of the firefighter and family members who have suffered a line of duty burn injury. Following this meeting we approached the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation and the staff of the New York Presbyterian Burn Center about partnering with us on this project. Currently there are programs such as burn camps for young burn survivors and the Phoenix Society offers a survivor support program though many burn centers nationwide along with their annual World Burn Congress but nothing specifically exist for members of the fire service. We have already received interest in the project from firefighters in Massachusetts, California, and numerous other parts of the U.S. and Canada. We hope to have a program up and running by fall of 2010. 
 
We again like to say thank you to the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation for all of your support over the years. If not for the generosity and assistance of Billy Leahy, Bill Carlson, the late Lt. Jimmy Curran and his daughter Gwen we truly would not be where we are today. Over the past 35 years your members have established a first class organization that is second to none. Thank you for seeing the potential in a group of guys that was to say the least completely clueless about running a foundation much less building one from the ground up. Without you the past five year would not have been as successful as it was. Thanks!
 
http://www.nyffburncenter.com/

The D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation celebrated its 5th anniversary in September of 2009. On January 4, 2010 we hosted an awards dinner aboard the Odyssey to recognize all of those who have played a role in making this organization a success. We presented several awards to businesses, individual donors, and organizations that have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars over five years. The foundation also recognized Jimmy DiGregory, Dave Keefe, Steve Fennell, Jimmy Griest and Butch Oliff for 5 years of dedicated service to the foundation. 

 
Since 2004 the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation has donated over $552,000 to The Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center, Children’s National Medical Center, and our Children’s Burn Camp program. This does not include the thousands of dollars spent on hotel rooms, food, and transportation for the families of injured firefighters. 
 
We would like to thank all of the sponsors who played a part in making this night a success. We also need to say thank you to the Odyssey for providing a wonderful evening filled with music, dinner, dancing, and great company. And of course thank you to the members of the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums for a great opening performance and numerous laughs on the dance floor.

The DC Fire Hockey Team will host it's annual tournament to benefit the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundaiton April 16 thru 18th, 2010.  This tournament will again be held at the Garden's Ice House in Laural, MD.  For more information go click on the attached pdf or go to:

www.dcfirehockey.com

On December 17th the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation hosted its annual Christmas lunch for the staff of The Burn Center. And to keep with our annual tradition we presented a check to the staff of The Burn Center for $76,000. This is only the tip of the iceberg for 2010. Over the next year we will donate over $150,000 for burn prevention, research, survivor support, burn camp, and assisting the families of firefighters who have been hospitalized due to a burn injury.  We would like to thank our friends at Old Glory for catering this event.
 
American Burn Assocaiton Annual Meeting        $5,000

Burn Clinic                                                                $5,000

Burn Operating Room                                             $8,000

Burn ICU (4H)                                                            $9,000

Burn Step Down Unit (3E)                                       $9,000

Burn Research                                                         $15,000

Burn Rehabilitation                                                  $25,000

Total:                                                                          $76,000

Despite the steady rain, firefighters from as far away as South Carolina took part in the first annual "Training Days" hosted by the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation. This two day event took place on October 17 and 18, 2009 and proved to be quite a success. Hands on skill stations on RIT training, Saving Your Own, Forcible Entry and the Flash Over Simulator kept the firefighters busy throughout the weekend. The instructors gave their free time to yield higher profits.

The Foundation looks forward to the 2nd Annual Training Days in 2010 and wishes to thank all who made this weekend a hit. A special thanks to all of the talent donated by the instructors from DCFD.

On September 18, 2009 the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity of GW University presented the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation a check for $20,380. These funds were raised through the efforts of the "Pikes" annual Fireman's Challenge. This week long event is capped by a grueling day of many physical tests that replicate some forms of firefighting activities. Students from GWU are assisted by DC Firefighters at each stage of the event.


 
 The Foundation has enjoyed a great relationship with the Pikes since they adopted us five years ago. The Pikes event coordinator of the 2009, Mark Halstead, exceeded his original pledge of $20,000 and Dante Oriente (2010's coordinator) raised the ante by $5,000!


 
It should be noted that these college students, all with full course loads, have raised over $40,000 since it's inception and this has become the Burn Foundation's biggest single fund raising effort! Our hats are tipped to the Pike's.