CAMDEN/ROCKLAND — The kids were just kids as they chowed down on pizza and wings at Rockland Fire/EMS. Their wounds were no longer agonizingly painful, but they had one thing in common — they had survived severe burn injuries. For two and a half hours, the youth, ages eight to 18, had the run of the Rockland Fire Station garage area, where the Rockland Fire Department and Portland Fire Department were cohosting a pizza party for the Winter Burn Camp. 

The Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation provides “relief to burn survivors and their families, to prevent burn injuries through education and training, and to help facilitate education about burn injuries and burn recovery to the People and Fire and Medical Professionals in the State of Maine,” and on Jan. 18, the Winter Burn Camp was in the Camden-Rockland area, first at the Camden Snow Bowl for an afternoon of skiing, followed by a pizza party at the Rockland Fire Station.

Mostly, the children and teens chatted with the friends they’ve met through the winter camp and Connecticut Summer Burn Camp. Not in conversation about their traumas, but everyday teenage topics relatable to any in the United States.

They hail from near and far: two each from Texas, New Brunswick, and New York; others from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, and the Virginia/Maryland/D.C. area. Most learned of the camps from their stays at Shriner’s or other burn hospitals; 14-year-old Jazmyn, of Swanville, learned of the program from her teacher, at the age of nine.

They were enthusiastic with the firefighters, the firefighting profession, and the equipment. (It was not actually OK for them to climb to the roofs of the trucks. But once up there, what do you say?) One teen spoke of his desire to join a force in his home state. Others took turns carrying weighted dummies to safety.

Portland Firefighter and founder of Maine Fire and Ice Camp, David “Rico” Petruccelli, summed up the instinct that keeps firefighters, nurses, and other care providers returning as volunteers for the past 14 years.

Some of the firefighters have been to fires and rescued people. Others may have been on scene and couldn’t rescue someone.

Nurses, occupational therapists, and physical therapists have caused further pain to victims through recovery procedures filled with debriding of scar tissue and range of motion therapy.

“To be able to come and see all of the kids having fun, having a blast, knowing that it all works out, that they’re in a good place after is really important on the behavioral health side of your own job,” Petruccelli said.

“For some of us as firefighters, you may not have had a rescue, you may not have witnessed the burn on your own, but to just know that on a daily basis, when you go to work, that could be your day. We’ve known guys that we work with who’ve had burn injuries. Firefighters have been burned. It’s a connection for a lot of us,” he said.

Rockland Firefighter Carl Anderson and the crew in house during the party, Friday, Jan. 18, provided dinner for the 30 children and 16 volunteer staff, thanks to local food donations. South End Grocery not only donated, but also delivered 25 jumbo pizzas of all different kinds. Trackside donated chicken wings, and beverages and ice cream bars came courtesy of the local firefighter union.

All, while the adult firefighter volunteers from Portland; Moncton, New Brunswick; Boston; and Irvington, New Jersey, patiently stood by.

“This was huge,” Anderson said after camp members reboarded their charter bus for the trip back to Portland.

“We work day in and day out,” Anderson said. “We see tragedy, and we see bad things happen. Yes, we can volunteer, and yes, we can do certain things, but to actually give back and hang out with kids who were involved in these accidents...What a great feeling.”

As Petruccelli said, “firefighters are sort of big kids. Not very mature at heart. So, hanging around kids and playing. We’re larger versions of them.”

For more information: www.maineburnsurvivors.org/