Navigating the unthinkable

Steve and Rebekah Johnson pose for a photo at Marion County Fire Rescue Station 11 in Reddick, Fla. on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Steve is a firefighter with Marion County Fire Rescue and Rebekah is the executive director of the Marion County Firefighters Benevolence Fund’s Embers Of Hope Burn Camp. The camp will take place in August at Lake Swan in Melrose. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.

Home » Community

Posted July 16, 2025 | By Susan Smiley-Height, [email protected]

As a survivor of a house fire, Rebekah Johnson knows about the trauma of burns to a human body. For more than 20 years, since she was injured, she has been mentoring children and adults at the UF Health Shands Burn Center and working to raise awareness about fire safety both locally and around the nation.

Johnson also is the executive director of the Embers of Hope Burn Camp, which is an outreach of the Marion County Firefighters Benevolence Fund and is geared to children who have sustained a burn injury. The inaugural camp will take place from Aug. 7 to 10 at Lake Swan Camp in Melrose. It will give the 12 children who are enrolled, ranging in age from 7 to 16, an opportunity to see others with scars and find a sense of acceptance and community.

“My husband Steve is a Marion County firefighter and board member of the MCFBF. We are using the umbrella of the MCFBF, which is a nonprofit organization connected to Marion County Professional Fire Fighters union. We also have solicited corporate sponsorships and Hale Products in Ocala committed to a large donation, which is helping with the camp,” Johnson explained.

“We also have local unions and fire departments from all over north central Florida. Every camper will have their own counselor during camp, and they are mostly firefighters or fire educators. Union 3169 MCPFF sponsored funding so we could rent two vans, and we’ve got two Marion County firefighters who will drive the vans to pick the kids up. It’s really a collaborative effort that my husband and I are passionate about and we got a lot of support from our wonderful community,” she added.

Johnson said she and her husband both have volunteered with other camps throughout the past nearly 20 years, such as Camp Tequesta and Camp Amigo.

During the Embers of Hope Burn Camp, she said the children will enjoy a lot of water activities, such as fishing, going on an innertube behind a boat and a water trampoline. They also will be visiting the Canyons Zipline and Adventure Park in Ocala, for ziplining, horseback riding and gem mining. Michael Seegobin, the son of MCFR Lt. Deen Seegobin, who recently showcased his culinary talents on television during Season 9 of “MasterChef Junior,” will be coming to camp to cook for the kids.

“And we do a support group, which is something I’ve led in other camps. It’s all about building self-confidence and self-acceptance, and coping strategies for living in a world where your scars are on the outside and everyone can see them,” Johnson noted.

She also said that, oftentimes, people have this idea of being injured by fire “could never happen to me.”

“And so, it’s important that we talk about having working smoke detectors, having an escape plan, if there is a fire knowing what to do. Fire safety and preventing these kinds of injuries are really at the core. And we need any kind of support people can give, not just for camp, but year-round so if there is a child in the burn unit, which is more often than I like, I go there to help,” Johnson said.

“We try to do burn bags, things for them to do while they are in the hospital. We try to help out with gas because these families are coming all over. If they have other kids, they may be having to commute every day. If they miss work, it’s a financial hardship. Burn treatment is sensitive. Kids can be in the hospital, depending on the surface area of the burn and the degree, for almost a year sometimes. We have some wonderful organizations supporting us, but there is always more that can be done,” she explained.

“I think the more that people understand that this happens, the less people stare at you in the store. There is more of an empathy than sympathy and fear. It’s challenging enough recovering from traumatic injury, but when there are physical differences because of it, that makes it even harder to navigate what your new normal is and how to get back into society, especially school,” Johnson offered.

She said that many parents who have gone through such a scenario want people to know that it can happen to anyone.

One such parent is Katie Scott, the mom of 8-year-old Nathan. He was injured on Dec. 24, 2022. She said his burns covered 62 percent of his total body surface area. He was on ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which is a form of life support used for patients with life-threatening heart and lung conditions. She said he endured amputations, dialysis and prolonged intubation.

“He spent three weeks at Shands to become stable enough to transfer. Went to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Texas for treatment, for six months. He survived sepsis. He goes back to Texas every three to six months for surgery. Camp allows Nate to be around other kids and adults who have survived these catastrophic events and continue to thrive. He has loved Camp Amigo and Tequesta, however having a camp 20 minutes from home is so exciting,” Scott said.

To learn more about the Embers of Hope Burn Camp, go to mcfbf.org/events