Being burned in a home fire can leave painful physical and psychological scars, and Mississippi Burn, Hand, and Reconstruction Center is getting a little help to hopefully prevent that from happening as much as possible.
On Friday, Rankin County Fire Coordinator Brett Ishee presented a check on behalf of Rankin EOC and Complete Exteriors of Pearl to the Mississippi Burn, Hand, and Reconstruction Center to provide smoke detectors as a part of Burn Safety Awareness Week.
“Obviously being in a position to witness first hand the damage that can be done to a family during a house or vehicle fire situation, a place like the burn center means everything to a first responder,” said Ishee. “Along with Complete Exteriors, we just wanted to make smoke detectors available during Burn Safety Awareness Week at MBHRC to help prevent that horrible situation.”
Eddie Coleman, General Manager at Complete Exteriors, said the people at CE are always happy to give back to the communities that support their business, but also it’s a matter of first-hand experience for his company.
“It is important to us to be involved in our community where we live and work,” he said. “We had a former employee that was burned in a small fire and it is near and dear to our hearts what a burn victim experiences. Anything we could do to prevent that pain is a top priority to us.”
Rankin EOC previously also helped the burn center with a toy drive at Christmas, and MBHRC Director Tara Evans said she is grateful for the partnership.
“On behalf of Mississippi Burn, Hand and Reconstruction Center, I would like to personally thank you for your dedication to the work our team provides to the people of Mississippi and the surrounding states. Our mission is to provide each patient the individual care they need. As our team prepares for burn awareness week, I want to take a moment to thank Complete Exteriors personally for their gift. We were able to purchase smoke detectors and mini fire extinguishers for those that visit our event this week,” she said. “A simple thank you to Brett Ishee, Complete Exteriors, and the people of Rankin County will never be enough.”
Evans said the donation will also help their team along with presenters Ishee, John David Smith of MBHRC, and Mississippi State Fire Academy’s Shannon Sandridge, to provide information and prevention tips through Burn Safety Awareness Week at MBHRC “in our continued efforts to prevent accidents and save lives,” Evans said.
“I am humbled by the support everyone has shown our team and the dedication each of them has for the work we do,” she said.
“Mississippi Baptist Medical Center is grateful for the $1,500 donation made by Complete Exteriors and facilitated by Brett Ishee, Fire Coordinator for Rankin Emergency Operations Center,” said Bobbie Ware, CEO and administrator at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. “As we kick-off National Burn Awareness Week, it’s important to recognize the variety of safety measures that are crucial to preventing fire and burn injuries. This generous donation will be used to purchase smoke detectors as giveaways as part of our educational offerings during this observance week.”
(In the name of transparency: Darkhorse Press was also involved on a small scale in orchestrating this project.)
