About 400 firefighters and hazmat specialists descended on Baltimore this past week to raise money for firefighter cancer and network with fellow hazmat professionals.
For the eighth year, Hazmat Nation and HazSim hosted an after hours fundraising event during the International Association of Fire Chief’s hazmat conference. In addition to enjoying music, food and mechanical bull riding, attendees raised money for the Firefighter Cancer Support Network. FCSN is a nationwide nonprofit that helps firefighters navigate a cancer diagnosis, advocates for firefighter cancer research and provides the latest on best practices to reduce the cancer risk in the fire service.
“Last year we outgrew our event venue,” says HazSim and Hazmat Nation founder and CEO Phil Ambrose. “With this new venue, we weren’t sure what the turnout would be. But, we eclipsed all other years. This is great for firefighter health and wellness.”
Also Read: HazSim, Hazmat Nation to Raise Money for Firefighter Cancer
Ambrose says work is already under way to make next year’s event more engaging to give attendees better opportunities to make deeper connections while assisting a worthy cause.
“Watching how our attendees interacted within this new space sparked ideas for ways to draw people close together next year, to share insights and ideas and interact with our sponsorship partners. Even before the last drink was poured, we were plotting ways to enhance the event,” Ambrose says. “We’re excited by how much this event has grown and are ready to go next level.”
Ambrose says he is especially grateful for sponsors like All Safe Industries, who again treated attendees to handpicked bourbon samplings and to custom rocks glasses and coasters to take home. Dupont and First Line Tech were also major sponsors who made the fundraising event possible.“The real win here is that we raised funds and disseminated materials for FCSN and for the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer,” Ambrose says. “Even after the event, we continued to distribute material and talk about firefighter cancer at our show floor booth, where we probably reached another 500 people. Our small team and our partners are very passionate about helping firefighters who have cancer and preventing it in those who don’t.”
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