‘Fill the Boot’ Fundraiser Raises $203,000 for Burn Victims

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - For four days, from Thursday, February 3rd, to Sunday February 6th, 150 firefighters from throughout Sacramento County and beyond showed up at the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights to participate in the 28^th Fill the Boot for Burns fundraiser. This is the Firefighters Burn Institute’s (FFBI) largest fundraiser of the year. The official tally at the end of the week was $203,000, $33,000 more than 2021. Helping them raise funds, fire personnel from Folsom, South Placer, Consumnes, West Sacramento, Elk Grove, Woodland, Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and Beale Air Force Base in Yuba County took to the streets of Citrus Heights alongside their local brother and sister firefighters.  Following the main event in Citrus Heights each winter, smaller satellite fundraisers are held during the year throughout the area.

The official FFBI website explains their mission statement and the intensive work they are doing in this field:

“The Firefighters Burn Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded by Sacramento Fire Captain Cliff Haskell and the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 in 1973, for the purpose of establishing a local burn treatment facility; providing recovery programs for burn survivors; providing fire and burn prevention through public education; funding education for burn team professionals, firefighters, and burn survivors; and supporting burn treatment and rehabilitation research”.

The FFBI was brought about in response to a terrible accident. “In 1972, a jet airplane attempting to take off from Sacramento Executive Airport, crashed into a crowded Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor, killing 23 people and burning many others. A Sacramento firefighter, Gene LaVine, and eight members of his family died in the fiery crash. Shortly after, Sacramento Fire Department Captain Cliff Haskell convinced the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 to allow him to begin work establishing a specialized burn unit for the area. Cliff’s initial fundraising campaigns formed the FFBI in December 1973.

FFBI’s goal was to help establish a local burn treatment facility in the Sacramento area. Shortly after its founding, FFBI collaborated with physicians and administration at the University of California Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) to open the UCDMC Regional Burn Center in January of 1974. Over the years, FFBI has expanded its mission to include burn research, public education, fire and burn prevention and burn recovery for survivors and their families, which extends far beyond the firefighting community to any and all burn survivors. If it wasn’t for Captain Cliff Haskell and the support of his wife, Tillie Haskell, there would not be definitive burn care in the Sacramento area”.

The firefighters themselves are important in the planning and execution of all programs and their involvement in the FFBI has been the assurance of its success. Nearly five decades later, the FFBI participates in local recovery and educational outreach efforts and plays an active leadership role on a national level through its involvement in the Federation of Burn Foundations and the American Burn Association.

In 2020 a children’s book for preschoolers and kindergarteners, inspired by the Haskells was created. “Safety in the Fire House,” featuring Cliff the firefighting goat and Tillie the fire safe chicken educates young children about how to stay safe from fires and other dangerous hot objects around the house.

Sponsors who help make this event happen include Duarte Construction, California Fire Foundation, Emergency Board Up Solutions, Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522, Sunrise Mall, and the City of Citrus Heights.

For more information including other fundraisers and how you can volunteer go to ffburn.org