FOMBELL, Beaver County — West Penn Burn Camp is similar to other summer camps, with its campfires, sports, and swimming, but with one barely noticeable difference: every child at the camp has the scars of being burned.

That detail seems to go unnoticed as the children build friendships and scale climbing walls. These are just normal children having a good time.

“They know they can let down their guard and be themselves here,” said camp director Stephanie Sauvageot.

The burn camp is for children ages 7 to 17. Twenty-seven children attended this year for the 25th year of the camp at Camp Kon-O-Kwee.

Jessica Nero first came to the camp when she was 6. This is her 11th year at camp, and she plans to come back as a counselor.

“It's the same people every year,” she said, “so you get close to a lot of them.”

Jessica's favorite part of camp this year was dress shopping.

The theme this year is “Putting on the Ritz.” Campers went to Ross Park Mall to be fitted for formal wear for a dance that is part of a gala tonight.

Several hours before the gala, the girls will get makeovers courtesy of a New Castle salon.

Limousines will pick up the dressed-up campers for a ride across Camp Kon-O-Kwee to the party site.

A Zelienople florist has provided floral arrangements.

Dakota Kriess of Butler started coming to the camp when he was 7. Dakota, whose favorite camp memories are playing capture the flag, was injured as a small child in a gasoline fire.

Emily Thoma, also of Butler, said she enjoys seeing her friends at camp every year.

“This is a family of kids,” she said, adding that many return to camp each year.

She said she added many of the campers to her list of friends on Facebook, and saw them counting down the days to return to camp.

Krasimis Kaercher of Chippewa is a counselor who spent five summers at camp.

He told a story of a child in his group who had been homesick. He was in a canoe when he became part of a splash battle. His homesick feelings went away and he began to have a good time.

“To me, that is the most important part,” Kaercher said, “when kids start to have fun and come out of their shell and be a part of what camp really is.”

Counselors Brandon Cox and Nick Pryor also returned to help at the camp after being campers.

“There are good people here,” Cox said.

One important part of the annual camp is the campfire. At most camps, this is a common but uneventful occurrence. At the burn camp, it is part of the healing process.

Sauvageot said many of the campers are afraid of fire, especially during their first year. Yet, the campfire becomes a peaceful time of bonding.

“Every year, there seems to be a touching moment around the campfire,” she said.

This year a 7-year-old is at her first camp. Last year, she was burned in a campfire. The other campers were told this, and they all talked to her, comforted her and invited her to sit with them.

“It's very special to me,” Sauvageot said. “I can't imagine a summer without this camp and without these kids.

Clinton Richter of Ross Township was one of the first children treated at the West Penn Burn Center and is now a camp counselor.

He was trapped in a trailer fire in 1975 when he was 20 months old.

He was in a coma for six months after the fire and made frequent trips to the hospital until he was 5.

He did not know about the camp until he did an Internet search to find ways he could help burned children. He has been a counselor each summer since then.

“It's a great thing they're doing here,” Richter said.

The camp is free and occurs the first week of June every year. Any child treated at the West Penn Burn Center can attend.

For information, call 412-578-5273 or visit the website at www.westpennburncenter.com/programs/camp.html.