Fishers firefighter dedicates time, energy to burn survivors
Original article published at youarecurrent.com. See the original article here.
By Les Morris on June 11, 2025 Fishers Community
For many central Indiana residents, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend means relaxation and the Indianapolis 500. For Fishers firefighter Chad Abel, it signaled the start of another Hoosier Burn Camp.
Abel, 51, is a captain in the Fishers Fire Department. Every year since the camp began in 1999, he’s returned to Camp Tecumseh on the banks of the Tippecanoe River in Brookston to work with burn survivors ages 8-18.
The camp’s mission is to combine the fun of summer camp with opportunities to build life skills kids need to recover from the trauma of their burn injuries. The week at Camp Tecumseh is far from the group’s only activity — it holds 15 to 20 programs throughout the year for burn survivors and their families.
Spending a week at the camp came with hesitation on Abel’s part when he was first approached in the late ’90’s.
“I was very uncomfortable with the thought of it,” he said. “My least favorite clinical at paramedic school was the Wishard Burn Unit. Being in the hospital with someone on a ventilator, and all their dressings and going through dressing changes, it’s not for the faint of heart by any means.”
Abel was quick to add he admires nurses and physicians who treat burn patients daily.
When his fire chief convinced him to go to the camp, Abel said he told him he’d go one time.
‘I wasn’t drawn to it, but once I got up there, that week was absolutely life-changing,” he said. “When you are around the kids, you realize you are around the strongest people you’ve seen in your life. They provide the motivation.”
This year, the camp hosted 54 burn survivors, who are generally referred by hospitals and burn centers. Program director Caitlin Dougherty said the two largest referring institutions are Riley Hospital for Children and Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at Ascension St. Vincent.
Young burn victims from across the state attend the free camp. Donations and proceeds from the organization’s largest annual fundraiser, “Masquerade,” finance the activities.
During the week, campers participate in swimming, crafts, archery and other normal summer camp activities. At night, the kids break into discussion groups and participate in a “challenger” program where they focus on specific attributes like responsibility and joy. There are approximately 50 counselors and two mental health professionals who donate their time to work with the burn survivors’ emotional and psychological needs.
Visitor’s Day is on the Wednesday of camp week, and Abel said previous years have seen up to 30 fire departments bring various fire apparatuses to the camp. Helicopters have come, too. Most years, the group travels to a Lafayette water park. Weather prevented that excursion this year, so the contingent headed to the movies to see “Lilo & Stitch.”
“It’s a summer camp on steroids,” Abel said.
The staff is grateful for Abel’s efforts. Dougherty said he is great with kids of all ages.
“He can really get on a level with them where he is not only passionate but can serve as a mentor and role model,” she said.
Dougherty said Abel has seamlessly taken on the role of Santa at the organization’s holiday party for the past few years and is skilled at remembering children and their background from camp and weaving it into the holiday season to make it even more magical for the kids.
Abel also has a thriving side business called Hello Garage, in which he and his staff help homeowners transform and organize their garage space. Abel heads the Indianapolis franchise and has just expanded his network to include Cincinnati. Part of the business’ proceeds are donated to the Hoosier Burn Camp.
It’s a given that Abel will continue his volunteer work at the camp, an activity he said is made possible by the support he receives from the FFD.
“It’s just been such a blessing to be part of that camp,” he said. “It’s a special place and those kids are phenomenal.”