EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mary Werderitch, IFSA Executive Director

From the May 2006 newsletter... Mary Werderitch
At the close of 2005 we reflected on the successes of the past year and looked ahead to the year 2006 with great anticipation. None of our accomplishments would have been possible without the continued support of all of you.

Burn Camp
This year we went through the rather major expense of doing a mailing to all of the schools in Illinois. The expense has proven well worth it! Currently we have identified 30 new children that would benefit from attending our camp.

Board of Directors
The Illinois Fire Safety Alliance membership approved the IFSA nomination committee’s slate for Board of Directors at our April 4, 2006 meeting. IFSA Board of Director’s have elected the officers as follows:

  • Michael Figolah, President
  • Kathleen Haage, Vice-President
  • Terry Pluta, Vice-President
  • James Saletta, Secretary
  • Jill Friedrichs, Treasurer
  • Barry Bennett, Director
  • LJ Kielczynski, Director

Michael Figolah named two Appointed Directors, James Grady III and Dottie Ahbe.

At our April 18, 2006 Executive Board meeting our proposed budget for 2006-2007 was approved. The board has an ambitious list of new programs that will be developed in the next year.

Farm Fire Safety Flip Chart
A new Fire Safety Guide will be designed for distribution to farmers throughout Illinois.

Journey Back School Re-Entry Program
The IFSA will partner with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivor’s on this resource to assist school re-entry after a burn injury. More information can be found in the Education Committee Report.

Hot Water Burns – Older Adult Program
This program will be an expansion of our Hot Water Burns Program where thermometers are distributed to Illinois Hospital Maternity Units. Possible distribution of thermometers could be through Assisted Living/Shared Housing Licensed establishments through the Illinois Department of Health.

Educating the Educator
The IFSA will develop resources for Public Educators to provide fire safety education in their Special Education Schools.

Burn Survivor Education Program
The goal is to appoint a burn survivor education board comprised of 5 members (More details will be available soon).

B.E.A.R.S. (Burn Education Awareness Recognition and Support)
This program actually already exists. It has been operating under Barry Bennett at Loyola Medical Center. The BEARS program is a free resource available to anyone who is concerned about children playing with fire. It provides trained juvenile fire setter intervention specialists to interview the juvenile fire setter and their family. By using the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) interview/assessment tool, the intervention specialist can determine the child’s level of interest in fire setting. An intervention strategy can then be developed and discussed with the child’s parent or guardian.

Most children who set fires simply require fire safety education. Many children are just curious and simply do not understand the potential devastating consequences of playing with fire. For others, fire play can mean something more and is meeting an emotional need. For these children mental health intervention is often needed. The BEARs program works very closely with Cook County and DuPage County Juvenile Court systems and provides an alternative to sentencing, particularly for first time offenders. Not only does this program free up the court system, but instead of simply paying a fine, or doing some type of community service, the child offender, along with his or her family, has an opportunity to obtain education about the risks of fire setting through a non-threatening relationship with a trained firefighter. Since 2000, the program has averaged about 40 assessments per year, freeing up the court system and providing meaningful education to the youth offender that has resulted in the prevention of recurrent fire setting behaviors.

It’s been an amazing year for the IFSA. Our organization continues to be recognized nationally for our exceptional programs.

Wanted - Volunteers that speak Spanish!
The need for Spanish speaking translators to help us in relation to Burn Camp has increased. We would like to develop a list of volunteers to make calls, communicate with families, etc.

If you qualify and are interested, please contact our office at 847/390-0911.

Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Mission
The purpose of the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance is to bring together persons or groups with a common interest in fire safety, burn prevention, and public education, and to promote programs and disseminate information related to fire safety and burn prevention.