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Hanford Insider: Hanford Firefighters run while pushing their physical limits to support burn injured children

• Rob Bentley

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Captain Scott Mellon of the Hanford Fire Department joins us to share a remarkable story of service beyond the call of duty. Since 2014, Scott has been running the Fresno Urban Run while wearing complete firefighter turnout gear – helmet, coat, pants, boots and all – navigating stadium stairs, parking garages, and even finishing with an oxygen tank strapped to his back. What began as a personal challenge has transformed into a powerful fundraiser supporting young burn survivors.

The Fresno Urban Run has become synonymous with firefighter participation, attracting over 50 firefighters in full gear last year from departments across the Central Valley. Through friendly competition between fire academies at College of the Sequoias and Fresno City College, they've raised nearly $100,000 since 2019 for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, which supports CHAMP Camp – North America's largest summer camp for burn survivors ages 5-18.

Scott's passion for this cause shines through as he describes how CHAMP Camp creates a transformative space where "their burn injury is the least interesting thing about them." Young survivors who often face ongoing surgeries, social stigma, and physical challenges discover a place where they can participate in everything from horseback riding to swimming, with medical staff always on hand. The $1,200 per-child cost is covered entirely by donations, making this fundraiser crucial to the camp's mission.

After seven years as a camp counselor, Scott has witnessed firsthand how children grow from timid newcomers into confident young adults who refuse to be defined by their injuries. His dedication exemplifies the deep connection between the fire service and the communities they protect – not just in emergencies, but in the healing journey that follows.

Want to support this incredible cause? Donations can be made at givebutter.com/FresnoUrbanRun2025 before the May 4th event. Choose to support either fire academy team, the Hanford Fire Department, or simply contribute to this life-changing program that reminds burn survivors they are so much more than their injuries.

You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider
Thank you for supporting the show!

Speaker 1:

On this episode of the Hanford Insider Fire, captain Scott Mellon stops by to share with us the heartwarming fundraiser for burn victims that many local firefighters are participating in next month and how you can support their team. You'll get an update of Hanford news and the community calendar Then. Later I'll be back with your sports report. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, april 7th.

Speaker 2:

This is the Hanford Insider, the podcast, where we dive into what makes our community tick, from local stories and hidden gems to conversations with people shaping our neighborhood. We're here to celebrate, explore and connect. I'm your host, rob Bentley. Whether you're new to Hanford or a longtime local, this is your source for everything happening in our town, from events and news to unique conversations with people who make Hanford such a unique community. I hope you enjoy the format. Let's take a look at this week's community news. This week, national Library Week is being celebrated by the Kings County Library. Check out their social media pages and website for details about all of the special activities being planned. The Cinderella Project of Hanford is currently accepting donations of new and gently used prom dresses, shoes, purses or jewelry for the upcoming prom on May 3rd. Donations may be dropped off at the high school district office on Lacey Boulevard across from Carl's Jr. This is the last week of auditions to sing the national anthem at the Civic Auditorium's 100th birthday celebration on June 7th. Email your audition to hanfordinsider at gmailcom.

Speaker 2:

Here are some things coming up on our community calendar. At the food truck takeover in the Civic Park this Wednesday, april 9th, the lineup includes Tacos, san Marcos, eldos Bistro and Travelin' Tom's Coffee. The trucks are open from 11 to 2 each Wednesday in the beautiful Civic Auditorium Park. On April 10th there will be a National Crime Victims' Rights Week ceremony at the Quintinia Church, beginning at 6 pm. The History of Kings County Agriculture display at the Carnegie Museum of Kings County is now open. The museum is located at 109 East 8th Street and is open Fridays, saturdays and Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm. Visit carnegiemuseumofkingscountyorg for more information.

Speaker 2:

The annual father-daughter and mother-son date nights are coming up at the Hanford Civic Auditorium. This year the theme is Carnival Dance. There'll be food, music, a photo booth, games and face painting. The father-daughter event will be held on Saturday, april 12th, and the mother-son event will be held on April 13th. Tickets are $50 a couple and $20 for each additional child. You can get your tickets at eventbritecom or at the city offices. The Hanford Fox Theater will be showing the movie Titanic on April 13th. For more information, you can visit foxhanfordcom.

Speaker 2:

On April 18th, the City of Hanford is putting on the annual egg Hunt in the Civic Park from 10 am to 2 pm. There'll be food vendors, creative arts and crafts and fun and games. There'll be five divisions for egg hunts, including an adult egg hunt. The activities are free due to the generosity of Anthem Blue Cross. Saturday, april 26th, the Echoes of Courage celebration will be held, marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. There will be a parade through downtown Hanford at 10, and then there will be a ceremony at 11 in the park. There will be food trucks, a beer garden and a car show. For more information, visit Hanford Park's community service social media pages. In the evening on April 26th, the 57th Annual Kings County Council of Mexican American Women will be holding their scholarship dinner and dance in the Hanford Civic Auditorium from 6 pm to 11 pm. Tickets are $55 and may be purchased by contacting Linda at 559-362-4742.

Speaker 2:

If you have an event coming up and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together. Send your information to hanfordinsider at gmailcom. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events. It's the most comprehensive. The fresno urban run is a local 5k run coming up in downtown fresno on sunday, may 4th, and we're very privileged to have with us captain scott mellon of the hanford fire department, because the hanford fire department is a crucial piece of this run and definitely a big part of it. Welcome to the show, scott. Hi, rob, thanks for having me. So, scott, this run is in Fresno, but we have a lot of local participants in it and definitely a lot of local sponsors were trying to rally up. So can you tell us about the run and why you became involved with it?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. In fact, Hanford Fire has been involved with the run since the inception. The very first Fresno Urban Run was held in 2014. And myself, Isaac Bowler, who formerly Hanford Fire, currently with Porterville Fire and then the COS, the College of the Sequoias Fire Academy joined us at the inception of this run to generate awareness and goodwill for the fire service. We decided to run this race in our turnout here, which any race just in all of our gear that we wear as firefighters would be difficult enough. But this race entails running through Chachancey Park, the ballpark up there, doing every stair in the stadium, running six stories up a parking garage and then back down and then doing 10 flights of stairs in the Grand Tower. So we thought it'd be a great chance to test ourselves physically, also just create goodwill and awareness of the fire service and the things that we do in the community, and then also promote the College of Sequoias Fire Academy, who has a tremendous program right there in Hanford. They're right near Sierra Pacific High School, they're out there at the satellite campus for COS, and so that's how I got involved in it and I had such a good time and such a great response the first year.

Speaker 3:

I decided to continue to run that race annually in my turnout gears. So since 2014, I've run this race every May up there in Fresno. It's extended every year they just kept making it longer to what it is now, so it's a full 5k. I do it in all my gear, just like I wear it at work. The last part that I go up 10 flights of stairs, I go on air, I put on my mask and my air tank. It's just a way of holding myself accountable to the stresses and physical fitness requirements of the job. It's something fun.

Speaker 3:

And then it was in 2019 that I decided to start using the race to generate fundraising for the Elisa Ann Roosch Byrne Foundation. So I called on the fire academies Fresno City College and the COS Fire Academy to help me raise funds for the Elisa Ann Roosch Byrne Foundation, a statewide foundation that helps Byrne prevention, awareness and also survivor support services, including Camp Camp, which is held right in the Central Valley every year, the largest camp for burn survivors in North America, ages 5 to 18. So that's kind of how it just became something I started doing and I didn't want to stop, and now I'm trying to use it to generate funds for a great organization and also promote goodwill for our local academies.

Speaker 2:

So what does the team look like for this year? How many participants on the firefighter team have you rounded up so far?

Speaker 3:

So, last year was our highest participation of firefighters in gear I call it the turnouts or the turnout in turnouts in gear, I call it the turnout or the turnout in turnouts and we had over 50 participants. This year I anticipate even more. Cos Fire Academy class 2143, and Fresno City College class 63, have all committed their members, so we're looking at at least 50 just from the fire academies, and I've had participation from Porterville Fire, hanford Fire, fresno Fire, clovis Fire, sanger Fire, selma Fire, north Central Fresno County and then as far as satellites like Seaside, and we even had people from Farmersville.

Speaker 2:

The race has really become synonymous with the fire service which has been a really, really neat thing to see grow. So I'm anticipating our largest turnout yet. So tell me a little bit more about that then you know it's not specifically geared towards the firefighters, but you have definitely become an important part of that. What has been the reception of the other runners and spectators in the activity so?

Speaker 3:

the race itself has been such great hosts to having us out there Again. We didn't want to be in the way, we didn't want to compromise anybody else's day while they were out there going out and enjoying this fun run. So we worked with the race. They let us start the race, so we have the flag salute and then right after that the firefighters get to start the race. So that way we make sure we're out of the stadium before the elite runners start their run. So we don't impede on anybody.

Speaker 3:

And it's really really great to see the reception that the public has for its public servants. So traditionally, you know, the fire service has always been very well regarded by the public and I stress to these fire cadets, these men and women who are starting their fire service career, I said this is what the public thinks of us and you are now ambassadors for that. So I press upon them being good stewards of the goodwill that we have in the community and that's really on display during this race. We're very well received, we're very gracious to have such a good reception and we're very, very thankful and appreciative of our public support. We couldn't do this job if it wasn't for that kind of support that we have.

Speaker 2:

For sure. Hey, let's get back to the CHAMP camp. I've heard a lot of great things about that program up in the mountains. It gives children and adults of burn victims being able to participate. Share with us a little bit about your involvement in that and why that ministry is so important.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely so. To say things like this are life changing sometimes sounds cliche, but I can tell you that it changed my life. I became aware of the Elisa Andrews Byrne Foundation and what they do, their work with Byrne survivors. This was around 2015. And I was exposed to the camp through Wonder Valley Ranch, which is where they host the camp. It's up in the Sanger area near Piedra, and I became involved with the chili cook-off. They do a chili cook-off. Then they invite fire departments to come in and make a bunch of chili for a bunch of crazy kids, and so once I got a chance to do that, it opened my eyes to the magic of camp.

Speaker 3:

And what camp is is a camp. It's a week-long summer camp held here locally in the Central Valley for burn survivors ages 5 to 18. The families that participate in this program do so at no cost, which is where the fundraising aspect comes in. It costs about $1,200 per kid to send a kid to camp for a week. So there is a cost involved. But the magic of camp is these children from ages 5 to 18, who are all burn survivors get to come to camp and experience what it's like to just be a normal kid, and what I mean by that is there are no stairs, there's no stigma, there's no bullying. They get to be around other children who have been through the same thing that they have been through, and it's not very uncommon for a burn survivor to never meet another burn survivor outside of their burn unit.

Speaker 3:

Burn injuries are lifelong injuries, especially for children. So if a child is burned young as they grow, their scar tissue doesn't, so they typically require multiple surgeries over many, many years as their bodies grow and they have multiple skin grafts, so it's not just a one-time injury. So the magic of camp is, once they get to camp, their burn injury is the least interesting thing about them. They get to be creative, they get to be active. We don't place any limitations on our children. We just find adaptations as needed. Some children have no fingers or toes or they're missing limbs, and we make sure that they get to participate in everything that we provide Riding, atvs, horseback riding. We have a world-class ropes course, we have two pools. We have an entire lake. We take our older children to the lake. They go up to shaver for a day, while the younger kids get to do more fun stuff back Arts and crafts, archery, bb guns, we have a dance. We actually have hold a dance in the middle of the week for a lot of children who, as they go through the school system, are seen as outcasts, and it really provides a safe space, both socially, physically.

Speaker 3:

We have doctors on scene or on staff, we have burn nurses, who are often burn survivors themselves and because of the care that they've received in the burn units, a lot of them go into careers where they're helping others. So, and me personally as a counselor, this will be my seventh year I get to watch these children grow up. They go from being a little timid when they first get there to confident young men and women going into the world knowing that they can do anything that they sit down to do. And a lot of that confidence comes from the camp environment and it's truly a magical thing and we're very fortunate to have it here locally and we've had campers from the Central Valley, specifically Hanford. We've had a couple there's one young man who was involved in an incident that our agency was involved.

Speaker 3:

So we really make that local connection here right in the Central Valley and we have people from all over the state, sometimes Mexico, nevada. We have counselors that have people from all over the state, sometimes Mexico, nevada. We have counselors that come in from all over the country. It truly is the largest camp for burn survivors in North America. We have over 150 campers each year. It's one of the longest running. This year will be our 40th year of a camp and the organization itself has been around for over 50 years.

Speaker 2:

That's fantastic. That's such a great outreach to burn survivors and their families. Everybody needs that kind of support. So the Alicia Ann Roosh Burn Foundation does a lot of work for firefighters, but just a lot of outreach to burn victims in general, and I know they depend on donations. Can you tell us a little bit about the foundation?

Speaker 3:

So the foundation started when there was a young girl named Elisa Ann Roosh who perished in a fire. So there was a backyard fire, a closed-top fire and a backyard barbecue. She ran to her mother and ultimately, by running, introduced more oxygen to the flames and she perished. Her younger brother was also injured in the same accident. So to commemorate young Elisa Ann, the family decided to start this foundation. They also partnered with LA City Fire in creating the Stop, drop and Roll Burn Prevention Program.

Speaker 3:

So not only do we have support services for our burn survivor community through camp, through peer mentoring, through peer support, and there's tons of different trips that we do throughout the year for our burn survivors, but a big part of their focus is burn prevention when we have our FICE program, which is firefighters in schools and education.

Speaker 3:

So our hope is to prevent burn injuries. So ultimately we would be very happy if there was no longer a camp camp, because that would mean we would have no more burn injured children. And then it's not just for our children survivors as well, because you have two different types of injuries. When you're young, you grow with your injury. When you're an adult, there's a loss of identity that comes from moving into a new space in life dealing with your burn injury, and we also have support services for our adults as well. So it's one of those things where the community is very tight knit, because it truly is kind of a unique injury that requires a lot of different things that are very costly, very expensive and very traumatic. But we try to make sure that it does not define our survivors. It's something that they have and it's something that they deal with, but it's not who they are, because I can tell you from personal experience these kids are just so much more than whatever it is that happens.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely Well. The run is coming up on Sunday, may 4th, and I know you need sponsors. You'd appreciate donations. How can they donate to your team or maybe make a donation for the foundation or Champ Camp? Can you give us some contacts on that?

Speaker 3:

So glad you asked me that, rob, because our foundation is entirely funded through donations and it costs about $1,200 in order to send one child to camp. Our fundraising race has been very successful so far. Since I started it in 2019, we raised almost $100,000 through our donations Wow. So we are so thankful and so appreciative for what we've been able to generate so far, and we're continuing to do that Currently. Our current total right now is about almost $11,000 between the two fire academies.

Speaker 3:

Givebuttercom, that's G-I-V-E-B-U-T-T-E-Rcom, slash Fresno Urban Run 2025, and on that page you have links to donate to your favorite fire academy, either Fresno City College, Class 63, or College of the Sequoias Fire Academy 2143. You can donate anonymously, just to the cause. You can donate to Hanford Fire. I'm also raising money at this point and I've never been able to beat the Fire Academy, but I'm trying my best every year. They typically tend to raise more money than I do because there's more of them, but that's why I started it with the fire academies.

Speaker 3:

I wanted a little bit of friendly competition. Firefighters tend to be a competitive bunch and we like to see what we can do and push ourselves to do so, and I'm asking these young men and women to stretch a little bit because you know, given this day and age, donations can be tough to come by. Volunteerism overall is down. Fundraising is difficult because we understand just how hard it is for everybody these days just to make ends meet. So we're really appreciative for anything that you could possibly give or donate. It really, really goes a long way into improving the lives of burn survivors and also working towards our ultimate goal of burn prevention in our communities locally.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you, scott, and the rest of your team, for all the work that you do for the Byrne Foundation and the Champ Camp and we're looking forward to following up with you after the run to see how much money you raised. And I'll be sure to put the donation links in the show notes so that if you didn't get a chance to write that down, it'll be in the show notes and you can click on the link and I'll put it in the newsletter for the Hanford Insider newsletter for the Hanford Insider Newsletter and just. It's a wonderful opportunity to serve and, scott, I can't thank you enough for coming on the show and sharing about this.

Speaker 3:

It's my pleasure, rob, more moment. I truly want to thank the citizens of Hanford. So I've been a part of the Hanford Fire Department now for over 15 years. It was the first department that hired me. I live up in Fresno area, I live in Clovis, but Hanford has become near and dear to my heart and a big part of that is the citizens there in that lovely, lovely town. I truly, truly appreciate the goodwill that that town has shown its fire department, truly appreciate the goodwill that that town has shown its fire department. Me personally, I love interacting with our citizens, much more so in this kind of environment than on scene of an emergency. But it's my honor and my pleasure to be able to serve this community and I just want to make sure I have this moment to say thank you to as many of them as I can.

Speaker 1:

All right, thanks, scott of them is like yeah, all right, thanks, scott. And now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley. We'll start with softball, where Hanford West picked up a pair of wins to start league play 2-0. On Tuesday it was a 9-3 victory over Reedley where sophomore pitcher Ryland Montoya went all seven in the circle, allowing only two earned runs on five hits, with Kennedy Perryman and Emma Guzman tallying three hits apiece in the win. In Friday's showdown at Selma, the Huskies jumped out to an early lead thanks to an 11-run first inning and despite the Selma offense showing life late, it was Hanford West coming away victorious 19-11. The 19 runs on 22 hits was the largest output of the season in both categories for the Huskies, as they improved to 11-2 overall and will face Kingsburg in league action this week before heading up to Clovis for a big weekend at the Clovis Easter Classic.

Speaker 1:

Sierra Pacific also picked up a pair of wins last week. Tuesday it was on the road at Exeter, where a three-run top of the fifth propelled the Golden Bears to the 5-3 win over the Monarchs. Hayden Cota pitched all seven, with all three runs being unearned, while Miranda Reyes and Brooklyn Webb each had two hits in the Golden Bears' win and Friday's home game with CVC signaled the start of conference action and the Golden Bears' offense came to play, tallying 17 runs on 15 hits, with five different players having a multi-hit game. Sierra Pacific improves to 8-5 overall, with a crosstown tilt with Hanford High and a pair of league games with Washington, union and Emanuel awaiting this week. As for Hanford High, the Bullpups were only in action once last week, falling to Dinuba 5-1 to start WYL play 0-1. The Bullpups will clash with Sierra Pacific on Monday before returning to league play at Tulare Union and Tulare Western later in the week.

Speaker 1:

On to baseball, where Hanford West went 2-0 to start league play, taking down Exeter in both games of the home and home. Tuesday's home game was a low scoring contest as King Mitri and Michael Ricci each picked up an RBI, with Ricci also going the final five innings on the mound for the Huskies to pick up the win in the 3-1 game. Friday's road game was a back-and-forth contest that saw the game head to extra innings in an 8-8 tie before Hanford West picked up the winning run in the top half of the eighth. Sophomore Ben Ricci highlighted the Huskies' day at the plate with four hits in the 9-8 win On deck for the Huskies this week is a league series with Washington Union before a busy weekend at the Easter Baseball Classic in Clovis. Sierra Pacific Baseball went 2-1 in their three games last week to improve to 10-4 overall and 1-1 in league action. In Monday's non-league matchup with Templeton, a three-run bottom of the fifth was the difference for the Golden Bears as they picked up the 4-2 win over the Eagles. Wednesday was the start of league play, as CVC came to town and the Golden Bears held a 4-1 lead through five innings, but the Cavaliers played at 3-6 and 3-7 to take down Sierra Pacific 7-4. The Golden Bears did not have to wait long for their get-back, though, and thanks in large part to a four-run top of the sixth and a pair of nice outings on the mound from Caleb Kulwine and Harrison Grant, sierra Pacific picked up their first league win on the road, 6-3. A league clash with Kerman awaits the Golden Bears this week before the 2025 Fresno Easter Classic.

Speaker 1:

This weekend and Hanford High split their league series with Tulare Western last week.

Speaker 1:

Tuesday's home game was a steady dose of Bullpups offense, as they scored at least one run in five of the six innings that they came to the plate in the 12-6 victory. Manny Sousa had a big day at the plate, going 2-4 with a home run and three runs batted in, and Robert Ivey picked up the win with two solid innings out of the bullpen. Friday's road game saw the Bullpups fall behind early, trailing 4-0 after two innings, but the offense gave a late surge. However, it wasn't enough, as Tulare Western got their revenge, taking down the Bullpups 7-4. Enough, as Tulare Western got their revenge, taking down the Bullpups 7-4. Hanford High still sits atop the WIL at 5-1 and will play Mission Oak in a league series this week before they see weekend non-league play at the Fresno Easter Classic. As always, we like to cover as many local sports as we can, so if you have a score report, story or a team update, please let us know at hanfordinsider at gmailcom. I'm Eric Bentley and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.

Speaker 2:

That's all the time we have for this week's show. If you enjoyed this podcast and you'd like to show your support, you can go to buymeacoffeecom slash hanfordinsider to make a donation. Coffeecom slash Hanford insider to make a donation. If you'd like to join the Hanford insider email list, stop by my website at Hanford insidercom to sign up for updates. You'll also get an exclusive copy of my newsletter in your inbox each week. I'll send you your help getting the word out about the show by liking and sharing on social media or, like many of my listeners, just telling a friend for more information about the show. You can find this podcast on Facebook, instagram, threads X and YouTube at Hanford Insider. If you have a show idea, be sure to email me at hanfordinsider at gmailcom and I'll look into it. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.

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