For Ryan: Family establishes burn foundation in memory of child

Faced with the unimaginable loss of their 7-year-old son, Ryan, in a car wreck in 2001, Ron and Dawn Hirn were left rudderless as they tried to navigate their grief. They were left not only with emotional scars but also physical ones, as the fire that had taken Ryan’s life had also left burns on their bodies and on their son Tyler.

But in the 15 years since that day, the Hirns got down to the difficult task of moving forward with their lives and raising Tyler and his brothers, Trenton and Colton. However, the Mountain Brook residents wanted to do something to honor Ryan’s memory and help children who had survived a similar ordeal.

“I think that was always in the back of our minds, to do something in memory of Ryan,” Ron Hirn said.

They started a foundation initially in 2004, which they used to give donations to children they heard about whose lives were affected by burns. The Hirns also thought of starting their own summer camp for young burn victims.

“We didn’t know what it would entail, but something to honor Ryan, something that would be lasting beyond us when we’re not here. Something that would kind of make good out of that,” Dawn Hirn said.

However, they decided to create a nonprofit with a larger scope.

In February 2016, Village Living featured the Hirn family’s six-month trip around the world, bringing along with them a videographer and Ryan’s favorite Pokemon backpack. Dawn Hirn is working on finding a TV network interested in showing the series created from the trip’s footage, “Our Backpack.” But the family now has another project: the Ryan Shines Burn Foundation.

The foundation, which is a registered nonprofit, has four goals: The first is the support of Camp Conquest, a Children’s Harbor camp for burn survivors that Tyler has attended for seven years. The Hirns have been involved with the camp for years, supporting it with financial donations, and one year, cooking a pancake breakfast for the entire camp.

The other goals are to fund college and trade school scholarships for burn survivors, immediate assistance for families after a fire, and fire education and prevention programs both for adults and young children. Dawn Hirn said she’s also hoping to build a special emergency app that anyone, even a child, can use to call emergency services for a fire.

Someday they would like to have enough funding to completely pay for Camp Conquest each year.

One of the challenges burn victims, especially children, face is the way that visible burn scars can attract attention and comments, Dawn Hirn said.

Helping burn victims meet each other and giving them an opportunity to continue their education can help children gain confidence and security as they grow up.

“I don’t have a problem showing all my burns on my legs, but I’m an adult. A child, many of them that are burned, they don’t go in public, they’re embarrassed,” Dawn Hirn said. “[Camp Conquest] is a huge deal for these kids who want to hide their bodies.”

While they hope to receive individual donations, the Hirns are planning to use a percentage of proceeds from a network purchasing “Our Backpack” to fund the foundation. Though there are a lot of good causes to give time and money to, the Hirns said they are hoping Ryan’s story will inspire people to donate on behalf of burn victims in Birmingham and beyond.

“Hopefully we can do some good in this area, and maybe if we can branch from there that’d be great, too,” Ron Hirn said. “I think Ryan would want to know that we’re doing something to keep his memory alive. It’s a small thing, but you know that doesn’t necessarily make it an unimportant thing.”

Learn more about the Ryan Shines Burn Foundation at ryanshines.com.