Sandy Hook, NJ -- A mobile Fire Safety House, a burn-prevention education vehicle from Community Medical Center (CMC) in Toms River, an affiliate of Barnabas Health, will be open to the public for burn prevention education from now through August 26th at Area D in Sandy Hook.
The Fire Safety House will be on display to help educate Sandy Hook visitors about the importance of fire safety and burn prevention. The unit highlights the utter importance of having an escape plan prepared in the event of a fire in the home.
According to Beverly Foster, Director of the Saint Barnabas Burn Foundation, the Fire Safety House is a mobile trailer that recreates a home environment allowing individuals to identify and correct everyday household hazards that may lead to a fire and burn injuries. “Fire Safety House also simulates a house fire, utilizing non-toxic smoke, that allows people to practice their home escape plan,” she adds.
The Fire Safety event at Sandy Hook was arranged by Long Branch resident and Sea Gull’s Nest owner, Ed Segall, who sustained second- and third-degree burns over one-third of his body when a 100-pound propane tank exploded at his concession stand at a festival in Sandy Hook back in 1991. He was given a seven percent chance of survival. After a five-week stay at The Burn Center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, and a two-year recovery that involved multiple skin grafts, the Newark native was back on the boardwalk with a mission – to give back to the people who he says “saved his life” and educate others about fire safety.
The Fire Safety House was purchased through the generosity of the Sandy Hook Friends of the Saint Barnabas Burn Foundation and Ed Segall.
The Fire Safety House program visits schools in Atlantic, Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties, educating thousands of children about fire safety. A second Fire Safety House, stationed at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, visits schools in northern New Jersey.
The spring following the devastating explosion, Segall, with the cooperation of the National Park Service, hosted a day of fun at his Sandy Hook restaurant, Segall’s Nest, for the entire staff of The Burn Center. This has become an annual event to honor The Burn Center staff, fire fighters, police officers and park rangers who cared for Segall during and after the accident. From there he created Sandy Hook Friends of the Saint Barnabas Burn Foundation, a charitable group of local businesses, friends, family members and police and fire stations that have helped him raise funds to benefit The Burn Center over the past 18 years.
“Sandy Hook Friends raise money by publishing and distributing an annual journal, collecting aluminum cans from Sandy Hook visitors, and recycling donated vehicles, motorcycles, boats and properties,” adds Segall.
In addition to the purchase of the Fire Safety House, the Segall’s continued efforts and generosity help send young burn victims to summer camp, maintain an antique fire truck used to educate children about the dangers of fire, and assist parents in paying for lengthy hotel stays while a child is being cared for at the Center.
“We’re a hard-working family,” explains Segall who shares the business with his wife of 58-years, Natalie. The couple has three children, Scott, Tina and the late Barry Segall, and five grandchildren. Both Scott and Tina work with their parents in Sandy Hook.
“I feel so good doing this,” says Segall. “I’ll never give up my efforts to help The Burn Center and offer support and education, and I am sure my children will continue the legacy when I am no longer here. They know their dad is only alive because of Saint Barnabas.”
The Burn Center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, is the only state-certified burn treatment facility in New Jersey, one of the top ten burn centers in the country, and one of the largest in North America. With 12 intensive care beds and an 18-bed Step-Down Unit for less critically injured patients, the Center provides expert care for patients of all ages. More than 400 individuals are cared for at the Center each year.
For more information about The Burn Center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center or to schedule a Fire Safety House visit in northern or southern New Jersey, please call 973-322-4344 or visit www.njburncenter.com.
Date: August 19, 2011
Contact: Carrie Cristello
732-923-6552
