Indy man goes from burn victim to firefighter, crediting Hoosier Burn Camp

JOHNSON COUNTY — For John Sego it's a job he never thought he'd get into.

"Honestly the younger me would be surprised, but I am sure he would be proud," Sego said.

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It was a passion for giving back to burn victims that started it all.

"I was burned in a garage fire when I was a kid, I was 8," Sego said.

It's remarkable to see the man Sego has become. He says he wouldn't change any of it.

"I truly believe it was meant to happen. Honestly, I look at it as a blessing. I feel like I was put here for a reason, and this was the reason," Sego said.

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It's a stark change to the 8-year-old boy who was scared of fired after his injury.

"I was doing things I shouldn't be doing and that's how the fire started." Sego said.

Sego says he didn't come from the best place, and if the fire never happened he isn't sure what he would have ended up.

"I definitely had a lot of struggles. Adding on top of that the trauma that is a burn injury both physical and emotional and dealing with the relentless bullying," Sego said.

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As one can imagine navigating life in your tween into teen years with burns covering 40% of your body can be a challenge.

"If it wasn't for burn camp I don't know where I would be," Sego said. "With burn camp I am in the position that I am in today. Having that outlet of burn camp, between that week of camp every year, on top of the events I feel like kind of helped me excel through that stage of life."

He credits the man he is today to the Hoosier Burn Camp.

A summer camp that works to transform the lives of burn victims in Indiana.

The camp is free of charge to any child burn victim in Indiana.

It's a space that gives kids a chance to just be a kid.

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Sego says it was the camp that gave him the hope he needed to realize he was destined to be more than a burn victim.

"The burn injury does not define our burn survivors but it's a big part of their story. Helping them realize their full potential. I mean, I love the power of that," Mark Koopman, the executive director of Hoosier Burn Camp said.

The camp has been providing a safe space for kids for over 26 years. They estimate about 500 survivors have participated.

"We have children that have burned through both purposeful or accidental scolding's. Bonfire accidents, microwave accidents, your traditional house fire," Koopman said.

Sego said it was a place he could feel safe to be himself.

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"Once I got involved in burn camp I was immediately surrounded by people who were just like me. So I immediately felt accepted by everyone because everyone kind of went through the same thing," Sego said.

The camp comes at no cost for the kids.

"We're just trying to do our part," Shane Bauerle, with Johnson County Professional Firefighters said.

He works to help raise the funds to send kids to the camp with non-profit work called 'Burn the Cork.'

"I see the emotional scarring and harm. I see the physical scarring and harm from a burn injury on these children and how it affects them," Bauerle said.

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It's about $1,000 for each kid participating in the camp.

Burn the Cork's annual event will be family friendly with a goal of sending more kids to camp.

It's a chance for the community to come together for an evening of fun, food, music and spirits.

The event is at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 28 2024 at the Barn at Bay Horse Inn in Greenwood.

Learn more about Burn the Cork .