Established in 1978 by the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, the Burn Fund is supported by more than 4,300 professional fire fighters from 55 communities in BC and the Yukon. These fire fighters dedicate and donate their time and skills to support burn survivors. They also work to increase the public's knowledge about fire and burn prevention. The Burn Fund Executive and Board of Directors are represented by professional fire fighters, medical staff, and volunteers from across the province.
The BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund (Burn Fund) is dedicated to promoting burn prevention and providing survivor support and recovery programs in the Province of BC and the Yukon. Through its wide range of programs, the Burn Fund supports survivors and their families through their recovery journeys every step of the way.
Burn injuries are the third leading cause of injury related hospital admission for children under five. While other organizations have the ultimate goal of finding a cure, prevention is the Burn Fund’s cure. The vision of the organization is to see burn injuries prevented wherever possible and when they occur, assist survivors and their families for the best possible outcome through:
Survivor support programs and ensuring access to highly trained medical staff and essential equipment;
Funding the burn units at VGH and BC Children’s Hospital, among other hospitals. The Burn Fund saw an urgent need for these units and helped to establish the BC Professional Fire Fighters' Burn, Trauma and High Acuity at VGH in 1996.
Delivering burn and personal safety awareness education reaching all ages and stages of life.
In 2018, the Burn Fund added a purpose to the BCPFF Burn Fund to provide support for individuals in British Columbia affected by fire-related trauma with access to related counselling, information, or group support programs.
Burn Fund Centre
Tour of the Burn Fund Centre
The HomeAway accommodation service was created by the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund to fulfill an unmet need.
The Centre provides 8 short-term accommodations—a home away from home, for British Columbians needing to travel to Vancouver under emergency circumstances for medical treatment due to burn and major trauma injuries, patients in discharge transition or returning for follow up treatment. The suites include a kitchenette and there is also a communal full service family kitchen for meal preparation. Guests will find other comforts of home provided such as a family living room, library/study and outdoor decks.
Total Project Budget: $13.1M
City of Vancouver provides land for Centre
$4M investment from BC Housing & BC Ministry of Health
$2.5M donation from the Jack & Darlene Poole Foundation
$1.3M pledged from Fire Fighter Locals
$750,000 in donated services from Concert Properties
Ground Breaking – September 17, 2014
Construction Started – November, 2014
Construction Completed – December 2015
Burn Fund Offices move to new location December 2015
Grand Opening – March 18, 2016!
HomeAway Accommodation Suites opened in April 2016
Operational Stress & Community Support Dog
The BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund was offered a unique opportunity and partnership from Mike Annan, BC Alberta Guid Dogs to receive a "Operational Stress & Community Support Dog" (OS CS Dog). The Guide Dog Program aims to enhance the survivor support services of the BC Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund. This program endeavours to enhance Burn Fund programming by supporting burn survivors with therapeutic healing and stress related symptoms such as Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) and anxiety. Benji will attend the following Burn Fund programs:
Home Away Program
Burn Camp
Little Lionhearts Family Camp
THRIVE Winter Retreat
History of BCPFF Burn Fund
1982 BCPFFA Convention: Lorne Houston and Dr. Charles Snelling
In 1978 Dr. Charles Snelling of the Vancouver General Hospital and Captain Alex Blake of the Coquitlam Fire Fighters Local 1782 recognized the need to further develop research in the area of burn care and healing and established the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund.
The first Bright Nights, originally called Winter Wonderland took place in the late 1970’s. This event was hosted by the Barrett Family of Surrey and until 1997 raised in excess of $200,000 for the Burn Fund. From 1997 to the present, Bright Nights has been held in Stanley Park. For many years the Burn Fund supported burn survivors by sending them to summer camps in other provinces but in 1994 established the first such camp in BC at the North Vancouver Outdoor School facility in Squamish. Following this the Burn Fund established the first province-wide Burn Awareness Program in February 1996. In 1997 the Burn Fund committed $1 Million to relocate and establish a new burn unit at Vancouver General Hospital named the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit. The ‘Hot Water Burns Like Fire Program’ was established in 1999 in partnership with the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation to educate families and caregivers on potential burn hazards within the home.
Starting in 2002 the Burn Fund recognized the need to provide accommodation for the families of burn survivors and began a visioning exercise that led to the creation of the Burn Fund Centre which officially opened on March 18, 2016. In 2003 the Hometown Heroes Lottery was launched to provide additional funds for the VGH Burn Unit and the Burn Fund and in 2005 the Burn and wound Healing Research Laboratory opened. The initial funding from the BCPFFA Burn Fund was $400,000 and in 1997 the Burn Fund partnered with VGH to $3 Million over six years.
