250 Fire Department Logo Patches Fill Clark Burn Center With Gratitude

Syracuse NY

03 April, 2022

9:56 PM

Description

Press release from Upstate Medical University: March 31, 2022 Visitors to the Clark Burn Center at SUNY Upstate Medical University are greeted by rows of glass display cases filled with colorful patches representing volunteer fire and rescue stations across the state, from Long Island to the North Country. There are even a few from Canada and one from as far away as Iraq. Some are whimsical and feature cute animals or cartoon characters dressed up as firefighters. Some are more traditional, with crosses formed by ladders, axes, and fire hoses. Others show firefighters in action, dousing flames or rescuing victims. One lists the name of six fire fighters who died in the line of duty. Some come from recognizable places like Auburn, Jamesville and Plattsburg, but also from towns, villages and hamlets like Gloversville, Scipio, Union Hill, Kanona and Dexter. Patients, staff and visitors alike appreciate the display on Floor 6E, which has grown to feature more than 250 patches. "People love to look at it and a lot of times people are in awe at how many different service areas there are," said burn unit nurse manager Tamara Roberts. "They love to look at the patches and they try to find theirs and then they say, 'Oh, you need one from our area.' You always see people stopping in the hall looking at them." The burn center, a six-bed intensive care unit, serves people in 37 counties, stretching from Rochester to the west, Northern Pa. to the south, Vermont to the east and north to the Canadian border. Nurse manager Tracey McKee said the collection started in the early 1990s with a former burn center doctor, Henry Schiller. She said Schiller had a family member die from injuries sustained in a fire and after that he started reaching out to local departments to get their patches to begin the collection. "It's a nice way for us to develop a rapport with some of the fire departments," she said. But at a certain point, that outreach was no longer needed because local departments started sending them in. Now the unit has so many, they need to install more display cases to hold them all. A few months ago, the unit received a note and an envelope with seven patches in it. Some still show the blue fabric of the uniform they were pulled from. This press release was produced by Upstate Medical University. The views expressed here are the author's own.