FIREFIGHTERS BURN SURVIVOR WEEK
Firefighter Burn Survivors Week is dedicated to firefighters recovering from burn injuries — helping them reconnect, rebuild, and rediscover their strength.
Each year, the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation sponsors Firefighter Burn Survivors Week — a transformative program hosted in partnership with the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte, Colorado. The week brings together burn-injured firefighters from across the country for a powerful combination of adventure, reflection, and peer connection.
This program is more than a retreat — it’s a space for healing, understanding, and rediscovering strength. Through adaptive outdoor challenges like climbing, skiing, and mountain biking, participants learn to push past limits and rebuild confidence in both body and spirit. Surrounded by fellow firefighters who truly understand what recovery looks like, they find a renewed sense of purpose and belonging.
The week also provides meaningful opportunities for mentorship and shared learning. Participants exchange insights about navigating medical recovery, emotional wellbeing, and returning to work or everyday life after injury. The relationships built here often extend far beyond the mountains — creating a lasting network of support that helps firefighters and their families continue to heal long after the week ends.
Firefighter Burn Survivors Week gives firefighters the chance to rebuild confidence, rediscover purpose, and reconnect with the family they’ll always have in the fire service. It’s not about what they’ve lost — it’s about what they find together.
The program reminds every participant that recovery doesn’t mean going back to who they were — it means discovering who they can be next.
“Recovery from a burn isn’t just physical — it’s mental, too. Being surrounded by people who understand that, and being able to talk about it openly, meant everything to me.”
