Thursday, September 3 | Volume 40 No. 25

Westsidestory Newspaper

Turning Tragedy to Healing: California’s Firefighters Burn Institute Expands Its Mission Across the State

More than five decades ago, a tragedy at a Sacramento ice cream parlor exposed a critical gap in the region’s ability to care for people suffering from severe burns. Today, that trag edy remains part of the origin story of the Fire fighters Burn Institute (FFBI), a Sacramentobased organization whose work has grown into a statewide network of burn care, recov ery, prevention and education. In 1972, a jet attempting to take off from Sacramento Executive Airport crashed into a crowded Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor, killing 23 people and leaving many others with burn in juries. Among those killed were Sacramento firefighter Gene LaVine and eight members of his family. At the time, Sacramento did not have a spe cialized burn treatment facility, meaning se verely injured patients had to be transported elsewhere for care. The tragedy prompted then-Sacramento Fire Department Captain Cliff Haskell to act.

Haskell began fundraising with the Sacramen to Area Fire Fighters, Local 522, with the goal of creating a specialized burn unit in Sacra mento. Those efforts led to the founding of the Fire fighters Burn Institute in 1973 and, shortly af terward, the opening of the UC Davis Medical Center Regional Burn Center in January 1974.

To read more, visit www.westsidestorynewspaper.com.