The U. S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $497,000 federal grant through its “Assistance to Firefighter’s - Fire Prevention and Safety Program” to The People’s Burn Foundation, according to Jim Shaffer, Executive Director. The grant marks the fifth consecutive year The Foundation has received a restricted federal grant for national education programs. Funding will be used primarily to: 1) enhance The Foundation’s educational modules for use in a variety of distribution areas including via its active website developed in 2007 – www.igot2kno.org – devoted to fire and burn education for college and university students, and 2) improve The Foundation’s ability to provide free Internet online training to firefighters on the importance of burn prevention. The Foundation will partner with fire education experts to enhance the College Fire Survival program, including collaboration with Ed Comeau, Publisher of Campus Firewatch (Belchertown, MA), a monthly electronic newsletter focusing on the complex issues of campus fire safety. In publication since May 2000, it is read by campus fire officers, state and local fire officials, insurance professionals, equipment manufacturers, and all 50 state fire marshals and their staff. In 2007, The Foundation and Campus Firewatch created the highly acclaimed program “To Hell and Back – College Fire Survival” to educate the college demographic and fill a recognized gap in fire safety. The new funding will assist in the expansion of the educational messages available through www.igot2kno.org. The grant’s support to enhance online firefighter training will utilize a development team of firefighters from across the United States to work closely with The Foundation to ensure the platform will be available to all firefighters with Internet accessibility. The Foundation’s “To Hell and Back” training series has provided groundbreaking training tools for firefighters in the prevention of burn injuries, which include situational awareness, training simulator, community awareness, juvenile fire setters, and cyanide poisoning. The new grant will enhance delivery and ease of use for firefighters – volunteer and career, rural and suburban. The Foundation’s primary mission is to grow support and programs for people affected by residential fire devastation and burn injuries in Central Indiana and throughout the state, including its “Extinguish the Need” program, Adult Burn Survivor Support Groups, and “Brave Hearts Camp” for burn survivor children. As with previous funding, the new federal dollars will not support these Foundation programs and operations. Minimal indirect costs related specifically to the grant will be permitted, according to Shaffer.

Arni’s Restaurant will host its 7th Annual Arni’s Charity Golf Classic on Thursday September 24, 2009, at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, IN. The event will benefit The People’s Burn Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), and the Arnold I. Cohen Memorial Faculty Endowment Award at Purdue University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

The People’s Burn Foundation, whose “Extinguish the Need Program” serves individuals and families devastated by residential fire loss and burn injuries, is reaching out to the community for help to re-stock its significantly depleted supplies due to a number of recent fires in Central Indiana.