Michael Mathis was 11 when a friend poured gasoline on a fire.
Severely burned, Mathis was sent to a Shriners Hospital in Texas for treatment. Over the years Mathis has had more than 60 operations for his burns.
I met Mathis in 1991, in the aftermath of a tragedy.
A terrible fire in a duplex on Wetmore Avenue killed a 6-year-old girl. A 10-year-old boy was burned on more than 60 percent of his body. And their 8-year-old brother, believed to have set the fire, was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
A year earlier, Mathis had formed the Burned Children Recovery Foundation in Everett.
He knew just what to say to help the 10-year-old survivor.
“The BCRF has been based out of Everett for 19 years,” said Mathis, 54. “We have helped more than 98,674 families recover from their nightmare since it was founded.”
He’s been active in the Everett community as a member of Kiwanis and Masons.
In 2003, he became the Imperial Donor Relations Director for all 23 Shriners Hospitals.
Everett Firefighters Association and the Everett Fire Department has raised money for a national burned children’s summer program. Mathis is rightfully proud of Camp Phoenix, where burned youngsters stay every summer north of Stanwood.
His foundation provides more than 122,500 fire safety booklets each year to schools and children’s organizations.
And they offer a crisis line folks may call to ask questions and find support for helping a child or other loved one heal from a severe burn. Mathis helps answer phones at 800-799-BURN.
“We get about 13 new calls every day, from across the nation,” said Mathis. “We helped more than 5,000 children in 2008. The most important thing we can do, for kids and parents, is help them understand that it’s not about what you see in the mirror.”
They discuss how to go public with scars.
And how to handle going back to school.
“Education is the only way to prepare for the preventable nightmare — fire,” he said.
Mathis has worked with Everett Fire Chief Murray Gordon for two decades.
“He is incredibly sincere, and completely devoted to providing support for children with burn injuries,” Gordon said. “Because of his work, the outlook for the children is as positive as it can be.”
Gordon remembers the 1991 blaze, when firefighters were injured making rescues.
Mathis helped Daniel Gunia after the fire. He said Gunia lives in Arlington but does not stay in touch.
At the time, I wrote about his work with the 10-year-old after the fire. I didn’t know if Mathis would stay devoted to his cause.
He did, continuing to help kids who are burned.
“They are the hidden children,” he said.
For more about the Burned Children Recovery Foundation, go to www.burnedchildren recovery.org.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
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