Fatal Fire Prompts Fire Safety Reminders
August 20, 2014
FDNY Foundation Hosts Annual All-Star Breakfast
September 9, 2014
FDNY Foundation Celebrates Swiss Army Partnership
To mark the 130th anniversary of the Swiss Army knife and the 25th anniversary of Victorinox Swiss Army – the brand’s watchmaking division – the company has teamed up with the FDNY Foundation, the FDNY and the fire unit of Ibach, Switzerland to celebrate the international launch of its newest watch, I.N.O.X.
The new watch, designed and built to withstand high stress, was chosen to represent this “Firefighters for Life” partnership.
The FDNY Foundation marked the start of this partnership with a special event on Aug. 27 in Manhattan that brought together members of the FDNY, representatives from Victorinox and hundreds of bloggers from across the city.
“Trust, teamwork, quality work, reflection, courage and respect are the core values of our brand,” said Carl Elsener Jr., CEO of Victorinox and a veteran volunteer firefighter in Ibach, where Victorinox is headquartered. “I have come to realize during my years of service that they correspond precisely to the priorities of firefighters.”
The I.N.O.X. is designed to stand up to extraordinary conditions, much like the members of the FDNY. Guests and bloggers at the event were invited to attend workshops in which a firetruck rolled over the watch and left it undamaged, the watch was placed in boiling water, inside a two-hour washing machine cycle and faced a sand-blasting machine.
“We are so proud of this partnership,” said FDNY Foundation Chairman Stephen Ruzow. “Our partners like Victorinox help make it possible for us to do our work and spread the word of our mission.”
Bloggers at the event were tasked with the challenge of sharing images and video of the I.N.O.X. and the workshops on various social media platforms. The bloggers with the biggest responses received their own I.N.O.X. watches.
“We want to reach as many people as we can,” said FDNY Foundation Executive Director Jean O’Shea. “Events like this one help us reach new audiences and in that way, hopefully we are able to save more lives.”
