April 27-30 marked the 4th Annual National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Fire Service Survivors Conference. Held this year in Novato, CA, the event also coincided with one of the Local Assistance State Team (LAST) trainings planned for this year. Usually the event is held in Washington, D.C., but the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company graciously offered their facilities for the conference this year. "It gave people on the West Coast the chance to come," said survivor Tina Hauk. "It was great meeting so many new survivors and...going from place to place now provides more of an opportunity for even more survivors to attend each conference."

Survivors were greeted at the airports by members of local fire departments and shuttled around for the conference. "I really appreciate when there's a member of the fire service to meet us at the airport. It's so reassuring to step off the plane or bus and see them standing there to pick you up," said survivor Sharon Purdy.

Monday began early for the 50 survivors and 30 fire service participants, who attended training and workshops at 9:30am. The various workshops included wellness classes such as yoga and building resilience, a class in auto mechanics, financial planning, public speaking, and even dating. Pampering was also available for the survivors, in the form of make-up workshops and chair and table massages.

Survivors also had the option of participating in the training for LAST, a program designed by the NFFF to act as a support for already established line-of-duty death responders or to develop a team in areas where none exist. The LAST program was made possible for the NFFF through a grant funded by the Department of Justice. A survivor roundtable was included as a way for LAST teams to speak about their experiences and for survivors to share personal stories about the response they got from the departments to which their loved ones belonged.

Workshops and training continued throughout the first three days of the conference. Tuesday evening featured keynote speaker Darcie Sims of GRIEF, Inc. At dinner, Sims delivered the speech, entitled "Does Grief Come in One Size Fits All?" and helped survivors identify coping and adaptation styles. "Darcie is the most wonderful speaker I've ever heard," said Hauk. "She adds humor to lighten it up and goes back and forth between being serious and then adding humor. She's experienced it and knows exactly how everyone in the room feels."

The conference wrapped up on Thursday with a sightseeing trip of San Francisco. Survivors were able to embark on a bus trip and walking tour of the city, where they could further network with and enjoy the company of other survivors.

The Fire Service Survivors Conference met the concerns of survivors that they needed an event for them that was separate from the National Memorial Weekend, and offered them the means to begin moving from grief to rebuilding by offering life skills training and education. The conference also served as a place for survivors to reunite with one another and reconnect. Said Purdy, "This is my yearly decompression time. I can just be me and I don't have to put on a face for anyone."

The conference was sponsored through the generosity of Tyco Fire Systems and government funds provided by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance Programs. Plans are underway for next year's event.