Sunday, around 51 young burn survivors will trade in doctors, hospital visits, and burn treatments for a week of fun in the mountains.

Campers will swim, boat, hike, fish, rock-climb, and raft during the day. During the evenings, they will participate in campfire skits and songs, dancing, and a be able to catch a wild animal show.

Aug. 8 kicks offs opening day of the Firefighters Burn Institute’s (FFBI) Firefighter Kids Camp at Camp Concord in South Lake Tahoe. Established in the early 1990s, this year marks the camp’s 17th year.

Newly appointed FFBI Executive Director, Jim Doucette, said the best thing about the camp is that it “allows children to be amongst their peers. Burn injuries can be very traumatic, and it helps them to be around other children who have gone through the same horrible ordeals.”

Doucette, who recently retired from his role as the Sacramento Fire Department’s public information officer, has been involved with FFBI for around 25 years and is looking forward to playing “PIO for a day” at the Kids Camp during visitors’ day when media is invited.

The camp does not turn any child away who wishes to attend and, due to generous donations to FFBI, is free of charge.

Donations to the institute come from a mixture of private donations, fundraisers held by FFBI or on behalf of FFBI and through payroll deductions (including firefighter payroll deduction), which is how FFBI first began.

While the majority of the children come from California, Nevada and Oregon, the camp has hosted children from as far away as China, Switzerland and Mexico.

Campers are between the ages of 7 and 17 and, as long as they have completed the first grade, can be accepted as young as 6 years old.

“All of these campers have had serious burn injuries, some worse than others,” Doucette said. “But I can honestly say that in my years of working with FFBI and meeting many ‘burn survivors,” they are truly the most remarkable people I have ever met.”

While some of the childrens’ injuries hinder their ability to participate in some camp activities, the volunteers (including firefighters and Shriners Hospital for Children staff) have set up camp to include them in as many activities as possible.

“A lot of these people have literally gone through hell and survived. They typically love life and want to make the most out of [it],” Doucette said.

The FFBI’s mission is to provide recovery programs to burn survivors of all ages, promote fire and burn prevention through public education, fund scholarships and support burn treatment and rehabilitation research.

Although the camp only lasts for a week, the memories and friendships often continue on.

“Many of the the kids do stay in touch. Some have been to numerous camps, and some event become camp counselors when they are old enough,” Doucette said.

He said the camp often leaves an impact on more than just the campers, however.

“You realize that what problems you thought you had, they aren’t really problems at all!”

To find out how to volunteer or donate to the camp, contact coordinator Catharine Shaw at 916-739-8525.

Learn more about the Firefighters Burn Institute, visit their website.

Photos: Campers from previous years, courtesy of Firefighters Kids Camp