The Rotarian, January 2004
Cleveland Rotary Club Leads Campaign for Equipment that Saves a Child’s Life
By Jonathan Bastian
On November 24, 2001, an early-morning tornado ripped through miles
of farmland in Skene, 
Mississippi, completely destroying the home of
Wade and Paige Hawkins. Their seven year-old son Alex was trapped inside
a section of the collapsed home, while his parents franticly searched
for him in the darkness. Firefighters arrived on scene with a thermal
imager and used the infrared device to see a warm spot on a pile of
debris in the field. They had found Alex -- unconscious and critically
injured. He was trapped between two studs inside a wall, completely
hidden from view. Without the thermal imager, firefighters and his parents
believe he would have died that night.
The Cleveland (Mississippi) Rotary Club raised money and built community alliances that enabled the Bolivar County Volunteer Fire Department to become equipped with the thermal imager that saved Alex’s life. Felicia Applegate, chairperson of the project committee, initially proposed that the club become involved, and she led the fundraising effort.
When Cleveland firefighters initially made a presentation at a Rotary meeting in January of 2000, Applegate asked them if they were equipped with thermal imaging, and they said that they couldn’t afford it. “I had seen a piece about thermal imaging on a national evening news magazine program, and I had heard that two local children died in a house fire because firefighters couldn’t see them hiding behind the door of a room they were searching,” Applegate said. “When they said no, that didn’t seem like a very good answer – we needed to find a way to help them purchase this equipment.”
The Cleveland Rotary Club began the fundraising project by requesting the support of city and county officials. The next step was sitting down with fire department leaders to determine who in the community had benefited from their services. “We started the project, and others came on board very quickly when they realized what a great benefit it would be to have this equipment in place. It wasn’t a very hard sell at all… We ordered the Bullard thermal imaging camera in December of 2000.”
After the fundraiser kicked off, firefighters borrowed a thermal imager and conducted a technology demonstration on June 28, 2000, at a noon Rotary meeting. They invited officials from the city and county, representatives of the local media, and local business leaders, who all were given an opportunity to navigate a smoky room with and without a thermal imager. Applegate says this demonstration had a significant impact on the community’s support of the project, because it enabled guests to see for themselves the blinding conditions that firefighters face in a burning building.
With their successful community partnership approach, the Cleveland Rotary was able to coordinate funding for the purchase of four thermal imagers: two for the city and two for the county. The City of Cleveland donated one unit to the Cleveland VFD, and a corporate citizen donated the other. The Bolivar County Board of Supervisors provided funding for one thermal imager for the Bolivar County VFD, and the Rotary Club donated the other. Rotary funding sources included private and corporate donations by Rotary members, a golf tournament, pancake breakfasts, and donations from local businesses and other civic clubs.
“Anyone in the group would agree that this is one of the most beneficial projects we’ve done for our community,” Applegate said. “We found that it was a real team-building exercise for our group… It generated a lot of positive PR for us, but that was just the icing on the cake… We were just thrilled when we heard about the firefighters rescuing Alex. If it saves just one life, it’s more than worth what we spent.”
Alex’s mother Paige Hawkins, wholeheartedly agrees. “I know I walked past the pile of debris where Alex was trapped. That camera was literally a godsend. Without it, Alex may not have made it. If it was only used this one time, it was worth whatever they paid for it.”
Felicia Applegate is Chief Financial Officer of the Delta State Foundation in Cleveland and has been a member of the 80 year-old Cleveland Rotary Club for seven years. Her 4 year-old daughter was a motivating factor for her personally becoming involved in a leadership position. “At the time, my daughter was just one year old. When I saw the news piece about those two children who died, I was picturing her. She wouldn’t have found her way out either.”
Applegate emphasizes the importance of Rotary Club teamwork in leading the fundraising campaign. “It was a club effort, all the way. Eddie Vaughn was a critical part of this, and so was Keith Fulcher. Many members made personal contributions of money, and many gave their time to make this happen.”
Thermal imagers are infrared devices that give firefighters a “thermal
picture” or a “heat picture” of a scene, enabling them
to see through smoke to identify victims, pinpoint fires and see structural
dangers before they put firefighters at risk. E.D. Bullard Company,
the industry leader, has developed free fundraising instruction and
support materials that will help departments and civic clubs plan and
execute effective local thermal imaging fundraising campaigns. Both
print and video resources are included in this free kit, which Rotary
Club members can order by registering at www.thermalimager.com or calling
toll-free 800-227-0423.