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Published on 08/07/1995 All articles from this issue

Los Altos fire crews prepare for eighth annual burn relay

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

Fire trucks from Santa Clara to San Francisco will also parade through Los Altos Friday for the eighth annual burn relay which collects money for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation.

The rally will begin at 7:05 a.m. at the Santa Clara Fire Fighter Training Center. California Highway Patrol officers will escort the entourage north as the vehicles travel from fire station to fire station.

Last year more than 40 pieces of fire apparatus - engines, rescue vehicles, ambulances - from more than 30 peninsula fire departments and service groups joined the parade.

The trucks are expected in Los Altos between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m., said Lt. George Tsivikas, a six-year veteran of the Los Altos Fire Department. Kate Kelly, anchorwoman from KPIX is the "human baton" and will move from one lead truck to the next, as the parade moves on.

While in Los Altos, Kelly will board a Los Altos fire truck, and the Los Altos firefighters will present her with a check for $500.

"The firefighters contributed this from their union dues, Local 1167," Tsivikas said. "This money is from us, not from the community, and we're very proud of it."

Last year the peninsula firefighters collected $55,000 during the burn relay.

Alisa Ann Ruch, 8 years old, burned to death in 1971 when her clothes caught on fire from a backyard barbecue in Southern California.

Her family began the foundation that same year to teach burn prevention and to offer burn survivor assistance.

"If she'd known the stop-drop-roll technique, she may have survived," said Karen Arsenault, program director for Northern California services with the Alisa Ann Ruch Foundation.

Champ Camp, for 200 burn-injured children ages 5-18 and sponsored by the Foundation, provides a week of summer camp in June at Sanger, Calif.

"This is the largest summer camp for burn-injured children in the country," Arsenault said. One week costs $450.

The Foundation prints fire-safety slogans in brochures, on bookmarks and even on Pogs, the 1-2-inch round cardboard tokens children and teens collect. In addition to stop-drop-roll, the safety tips include:

• Crawl if you're caught in smoke;

• Always know two ways out.

Friday's event also includes a safety fair at Fashion Island in San Mateo from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. with all the fire firefighters and apparatus present.

The rally will finish at 4:25 p.m. at the San Francisco Fire Department Training Center.

For more information about the Alisa Ann Ruch Foundation, call 1-800-242-BURN (2876). The main office is in Canoga Park, Calif..