Just over 10 years ago, Cathy Hedrick of Maryland received an early morning phone call every parent dreads. Her son Kenny, a Maryland firefighter, was killed while rescuing a 7-year-old boy in a burning home.

Although firefighting was a family tradition in the Hedrick home — Cathy's husband, Les, is a volunteer firefighter and was the fire chief of the department where their son served — the devastating news was still a brutal blow. Over the course of the following year, the Hedricks attended numerous memorial services but always found them lacking the emotional support they wanted.

Healing weekend

The emotional support the Hedricks were seeking materialized in October 1993 when they attended the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend on the National Fire Academy campus in Emmitsburg, Md. The family participated in the weekend programs, including the memorial service that honored the life of their son and the lives of the other 79 firefighters who died in the line of duty the previous year.

From the Hedricks' perspective, one of the most constructive and healing aspects of the weekend was their participation in the peer support sessions led by experienced grief specialists. It was those sessions that made a real difference in Cathy's struggle to deal with the loss of her son.

“I was put in a room with other mothers who had lost firefighters, and my husband was in a room with other fathers,” recalls Cathy. “This was the first time I truly felt someone understood how I was feeling. It gave me a sense of relief and even peace.”

Cathy Hedrick's experience translated into a desire to help others who experienced similar loss. Since 1998, Cathy has been one of the NFFF's most active volunteers.

Since the NFFF's creation by Congress in 1992, it has helped more than a thousand families like the Hedricks cope with the loss of a beloved firefighter who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. In its brief history, the tax-exempt, non-profit NFFF has developed into an organization offering comprehensive programs that honor fallen fire heroes and assist their families and co-workers.

According to NFFF Board Chairman Hal Bruno, “What differentiates NFFF is that the organization focuses not just on tragedy, but moving beyond it.

“If all we did was maintain a memorial to firefighters who died in the line of duty and held a service every year to honor them, we would not be accomplishing our mission,” says Bruno, a retired journalist who served over a period of 40 years as a volunteer firefighter. “Our services and programs for the families and co-workers of the fallen are where we place most of our focus and resources.”

Fund-raising

The NFFF's fund-raising approach and business model illustrate that Bruno's comments are taken seriously.

“The foundation has very little administrative overhead,” says Chief Ronald Siarnicki, executive director of the NFFF. “The majority of the private donations we receive go to programs that directly benefit survivors and the departments of fallen firefighters.”

In fact, the NFFF has only eight full-time staffers and one part-timer. The organization also keeps its overhead cost down by occupying former dorm rooms on the campus of the National Fire Academy.

The NFFF relies heavily on corporate partners and general contributions to fund its projects. The American Eagle tier, the largest monetary tier of sponsors, includes the Fire Chiefs Association of Japan (coordinated by the International Association of Fire Chiefs), Florida Fire and Emergency Services Foundation, and State Farm Insurance.

The next tier of sponsors, known as the Crystal Memorial, includes the Allianz Group, the MCI Center, Maryland State Firemen's Association, Motorola, Nextel and The Allstate Foundation. The NFFF also recognizes those companies and corporations that give at varying levels through gold, silver and bronze designations. Patron sponsors include a diverse group from the Appomattox (Va.) Primary School to Boy Scout Troop #1910 in Texas to the Canyon Community Church in Arizona. Each and every donation is recognized and appreciated.

“Every donation both large and small makes a difference,” says Siarnicki. “Without everyone's support the NFFF could not exist.”

Siarnicki says that the type and size of donations vary throughout the year, although a high concentration of the donations come around the time of the memorial weekend, held annually each October.

Unrestricted donations are preferred since they provide the NFFF board with the greatest flexibility for distributing and allocating funds. Two of the organization's most costly expenditures, the memorial weekend and its scholarship program, require ongoing financial replenishment.

The scholarship program was launched in 1997 and remains a significant budget item for the foundation. To date, 143 scholarships totaling $375,000 have been awarded to spouses, children and stepchildren of fallen firefighters from 32 states. The scholarship program has enabled stay-at-home mothers to obtain needed education and join or return to the work force.

Memorial weekend

According to Siarnicki, last year was a very difficult one in terms of fund-raising because many organizations had been established to assist the families of firefighters killed at the World Trade Center.

“Sept. 11 changed everything,” he says. “Literally overnight the NFFF went from an organization accustomed to an average of 100 annual fatalities to an organization called upon to respond to 347 fatalities that occurred in 90 minutes.”

While NFFF provided an estimated $500,000 of direct resources to the Fire Department of New York's Counseling Services and Family Assistance units since Sept. 11, the main challenge was to sponsor the annual memorial weekend honoring the firefighters lost in the line of duty in 2001.

The NFFF pays most of the travel, lodging, food and program expenses incurred for the next-of-kin survivors who attend the Memorial Weekend. The events of Sept. 11 forced the NFFF to plan for an event honoring 446 fallen heroes and attended by thousands more family members and firefighters than ever before.

After a careful cost analysis, it was determined that 2002 memorial weekend expenditures would total more than $3 million — a staggering amount for the foundation's limited staff and fiscal resources.

It also was soon recognized that the limited space at the National Fire Academy could not accommodate the 2002 memorial weekend. Reluctantly, the NFFF chose to move its ceremonies to Washington, D.C. The candlelight service was held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the campus of Catholic University, and the larger public Memorial Service was held at the MCI Center.

The NFFF met the challenges and delivered the country's largest tribute ever to fallen firefighter heroes.

Moving forward

The NFFF's most recent goal was to raise funds for the 2003 National Memorial Weekend, Oct. 4-5, when 105 fallen firefighters and their survivors were honored. The average cost for each family to attend the service was $3,000, with a total cost for the weekend running about $500,000.

“Just about every week I meet with corporations and fire service beneficiary organizations to thank them for their contributions last year and, at the same time, cultivate them to be a more active and strategic partner,” says Siarnicki.

Other goals for the NFFF include identifying new programs and services to offer to the departments of fallen firefighters and awarding more educational scholarships. NFFF is also looking to create programs and initiatives that will assist in the prevention of firefighter line-of-duty deaths.

Perhaps Cathy Hedrick describes it best: “The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is more than just a memorial site. It is a healing hand, reaching out to all those who have lost a firefighter and want to make certain their heroes are honored respectfully. The survivors learn to go forward together, not alone.”

For more information on the NFFF and to learn how to make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.firehero.org or call 301-447-1365.

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Ronald E. Kanterman is the chief of emergency services for Merck & Co. in Rahway, N.J.

Walk of Honor

A major priority for the NFFF is the expansion of the Memorial Park on the campus of the National Fire Academy. NFFF seeks to complete what is referred to as the Walk of Honor, a brick walkway that will one day encompass the entire courtyard in front of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial and its eternal flame. The walkway bricks may be purchased individually or as a group and then inscribed with a short message commemorating the loss of a firefighter or any special message from the donor.