About San Diego Fireman's Relief Association

Our Programs

The Board of Directors

The Staff

Our Mission

Our History

Our Programs

San Diego Fireman's Relief Association provides a number of supportive and protective services to buffer the unique dangers and stresses you are exposed to while serving our community.

	Fire Family Services, our largest, most encompassing program, coordinates a range of assistance for Firefighters and their families during times of extreme distress: Death of a Firefighter loved one - supportive care for widows, orphans, and parents Severe injury or illness - disability coverage, practical support and help with routine care Emotional trauma and extreme stress - a network of trusted professionals who provide the care and help you need Family hardships - practical resources, professional referrals, and fraternal support to help you get through Financial difficulty - interest free loans to help you get back on your feet again after the loss of a home or other tragedy
	For most, hydration is a matter of convenience. For Firefighters, it's a matter of life and death. That's why we created The Fireline Project. Firefighting is one of the most physically and mentally demanding professions in the world. Our men and women in blue have special nutritional and hydration needs - for performance, for health, and for survival. FP provides specialized hydration beverages and functional nutrition to help keep our firefighters healthy and safe from dehydration and fatigue while battling wildfires and performing all the high-demand functions of their job. They care for our community. We care for them.
	Aging Heroes is a program of SDFRA which provides partial health care subsidies to low-income elderly firefighters who retired before 1980. These elder community servants have been exposed to far more significant hazards than Firefighters with modern safety equipment. Despite the greater health challenges they face as a result of these exposures, all too often these individuals and their spouses do not enjoy a level of retirement benefits or social support , and they do not have the social s sufficient to protect them against the many health challenges they now face. prior to the development of modern safety equipment
	Fire Scholars provides merit scholarships for outstanding college-bound students. Applicants submit an application package, an essay on a designated topic, and must meet stringent criteria for academic excellence. Upon receipt, all identifying information is removed from scholarship applications and essays. These are sent to an independent third party educational authority for evaluation and final scoring. Winners are presented with their awards at our annual scholarship luncheon, which takes place every spring.

The Board of Directors

Dan Faddis President	Rick Goulet Vice President	George Duardo Secretary/Treasurer
Kurtis Bennett Director	Robert Bunsold Director	Aaron Foust Director (Retired)
	Jodie Hatleberg Director

Board Structure

The San Diego Fireman's Relief Association board of directors is comprised of six (6) active duty firefighters and one (1) retired firefighter.

Every year, an election is held to replace vacating director positions on the board of directors. The election is conducted by mail and the results are independently certified by on-duty firefighters. The voting bloc consists of active duty and retired member firefighters.

The term of an elected director is three (3) years. At the first board meeting of each year, board members vote to select board officers for that year. Officer positions are:

• President
• Vice-President
• Secretary/Treasurer

In addition to elected officer positions, there non-officer positions which serve as chairpersons over each committee. The committees are based upon the SDFRA Strategic Plan and address core mission functions such as::

• Administration & Financial Resources
• Programs and Services
• Membership
• Retiree Issues
• Fundraising

Board Governance

At monthly board meetings, board members work together to consider administrative, strategic, and financial issues relevant to the good of the organization and its membership:

• Member services and benefits
• Ensuring sustainability
• Fundraising strategies
• Day-to-day operations
• Programs that benefit the community at large
  

 

 

Our Programs

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Board

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Staff

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Mission

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History

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Staff Members

Executive Director - Jerry Burkey
The Director of Operations manages the day-to-day functions of the Relief Association, and implements the decisions of the Board of Directors. This position is responsible for managing the marketing, public relations, and community outreach efforts of SDFRA.

Member Services - Joan Arrigo
Responsible for processing member claims, maintaining accurate records on all members. Administrative support to Executive Director and the Board of Directors as required.

Office Assistant - Peggy Cable (part time)
Assists Member Services with a variety of clerical duties. Responsible for archiving records and files.


Controller - Teri Connelly (part time)
Responsible for maintenance and analysis of accounting records. Ensures compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and San Diego Fireman’s Relief Association policies and procedures.

Our Mission

"To bind the members together in a closer bond of fraternity for mutual protection, to assist the members and their families in sickness, distress and death, and to promote and improve social relations and welfare among the members."

For over 100 years, the San Diego Fireman's Relief Association has been providing for the protection, care, and relief of the members of the San Diego Fire Department. While serving our mission over the last several decades we have also reached out to the community of San Diego and the public by:

• delivering meals and gifts to elderly citizens living alone
• teaming up with other organizations such as Ronald McDonald House
  to prepare meals for children and families
• visiting sick children in the hospital
• providing education about fire safety
  
  

Whether we are rendering assistance to firefighters who lost their homes while protecting the community or the general public, the San Diego Fireman's Relief Association is driven by our ten core values:

• Caring for those who care
• Tradition
• Compassion
• Unity
• Integrity
• Commitment
• Responsibility
• Accountability
• Passion for the mission
• Planning for the future

Our History

San Diego Firefighters have been caring for our community
for over a century...

...and we have been caring for them
every step of the way.

The San Diego Fireman's Relief Association was founded in 1907 and incorporated in 1908. The by-laws were adopted in September of 1907, with the expressed goals of:

1. To create and maintain a Firemen's Relief Fund for the protection, care and relief of the members of the City Fire Department service who may become disabled by and through such service.

2. To promote fraternal friendship and refined friendship among its members.

According to our current by-laws, our goal is:

"To bind the members together in a closer bond of fraternity for mutual protection, to assist the members and their families in sickness, distress and death, and to promote and improve social relations and welfare among the members."

In 1907, the Association became concerned about the members of the Fire Department, who received no benefits from the city. Firefighters traditionally came from working-class families, and when a firefighter was killed, those families had to struggle to pay for funeral and burial costs. In response to this growing need, The Relief Association bought burial plots at Greenwood Memorial Park in 1915 and established "Fireman's Rest". The plots in this area were specially designated for use by firefighters and their families, and were made available at affordable prices.

In 1986 the San Diego Fireman's Relief Association began offering medical insurance to dependents of member firefighters. This was before our Medical Plan was offered on the City's flexible benefits menu. In 1987 our Medical Plan was offered as a choice on the flexible benefits menu. Due to escalating insurance costs, the medical plan was forced to cease operation on July 31, 2004.

In 1990 the Relief Association established a charitable organization to benefit firefighters called the Widows, Orphans & Distressed Firefighter's Fund. This fund assists both active and retired firefighters in times of financial distress. Since then, the Widows, Orphans, & Distressed Firefighters Fund has been renamed and is now known as the Benevolent Fund, a 501(c)3 non-profit administered by the San Diego Fireman's Relief Association.

The Benevolent Fund depends on the generosity of the public— individuals, companies, and organizations who make tax-deductible monetary donations by mail or through our website. Funds are used to administer assistance to firefighters and their families when they are injured or killed, or during other times of hardship and distress.