Again....

[JackTee09]

This happened in the area where I live a couple of years ago. Now it is spreading.....

Fire Department Donations Under Fire
Aug 5, 2005
Tom Brockman
WNCT-TV9



Lots of people donate to worthy causes. It's a way to help out the community, but it seems there's something special about giving to firefighters; especially after 9-11.

We all want to feel safe, but what if you're money isn't going where you think it is? That's what's happening in one community.

A few weeks ago, Nine on Your Side got some calls from viewers worried about a possible scam to raise money for the Greenville Fire Department. Turns out, it's not a scam, but some of you could have been lied to.

But where is the money going? The good news is the money is still going to the Greenville Fire Department, but not for uniforms and equipment like some people were told.

Boots, jackets and helmets; three things a firefighter can't work without. ut if you think your donations helped buy them, Greenville Fire Chief, Mike Burton says guess again.

He says, “Most members of the community want to support their local fire department.”

So now you're probably asking yourself, isn't donating money for uniforms and equipment a good thing? Well, in this case it's not. Chief Burton says they're not seeing a dime.”

He says, “For the city of Greenville, we in no way depend on those sort of donations, we are fully supported by the tax dollars.”

He says when a company hired by the Greenville Professional Firefighters Association went door-to-door asking for donations, they stretched the truth of what it was for. We took that to the association's president Chris Cieszko.

Cieszko says, “From what I understand not everybody got the same speech. It was one particular person I guess using it as a selling ploy for him to get more money, they work off commission.”

He says every employee of community support services based in Goldsboro was supposed to read a letter word for word. In return, the contributor would get a free family portrait. But Cieszko says one employee didn't read that letter and that's the problem.

Cieszko says he's been dealt with. As for the money, they're going to use that for what it's meant for; charity.

So how can you make sure your money is going where it's supposed to? Chief Burton says you should be wary of all door-to-door sales.

It’s best the company you're donating to before dishing out some cash.

Cieszek says if you were told your money was going to fund uniforms and equipment and want your money back, you can contact them at 252-341-4390.

The Greenville Professional Firefighters Association tells Nine on Your Side they did check the record of community support services before they hired them to go get donations and they're very credible.

In the past, the company helped Cove City Fire and Rescue get as much as $2,800. The North Lenoir Volunteer Fire Department got $ 10,000 and the Wilson County Rescue Squad got $32,000.

[Rossco]

That is just not right. There are so many ways for things to get messed up, the last thing you need is some freelancer to put his own spin on things.

We are a private fire company serving a portion of three neighboring towns. We have had people say thanks for (fill in the blank), and we will be making our annual contribution/donation again just like in the years before. So, not remembering seeing any donations from that person, I checked the records, and sure enough, no record of them. So after this happened a few times, I finally called one of these people, and asked where they were sending these donations. They were unwhittingly sending it to the municiple department. An honest mistake, and no harm done, but still the money was not going to the intended destination. I advised them of their mistake for future reference only, not to stir up a bees nest. The point is, these people were fired up even when it was clearly their own mistake, and I can't imagine them if they thought they had been swindled.

[ThNozzleman]

He says when a company hired by the Greenville Professional Firefighters Association went door-to-door asking for donations, they stretched the truth of what it was for.

We've had the same sort of problem. A local from a city near here was sendng letters to residents of our city, asking for contributions to be made to their "local fire department." We received numerous complaints about the matter. It really doesn't affect us, but some of the volunteer fire departments in the area rely heavily on donations. People who donate unwittingly to the local (despite the nature of the cause) under the guise of supporting their local department may not be able to donate again when the department that actually serves them needs help. In fact, my own grandmother was approached in a similar manner. Although the locals and the companies they hire to do this may claim it was a mistake, I think it's little more than an underhanded tactic, since they intentionally leave out specific department information when contacting people they know live outside of their protection area.

[WaffleHut]

"they work off commission.”

Does this bother anybody else?

[JackTee09]

Does this bother anybody else?

What bothers me is that it creates negative publicity for all firefighters. The person on the street is not willing to spend the time to differentiate between good guys and bums. They see the lot of us as one and the same. Thus when events such as this take place it does damage to everyone.

[hwoods]

Does this bother anybody else?

Absolutely! We do solicit contributions from our First Due area on an annual basis. We do our soliciting by Letter, thru the U.S.Mail. The letter contains a statement, repeated every year, "PLEASE BE AWARE THAT WE DO NOT USE TELEPHONE OR DOOR TO DOOR SOLICITATION METHODS, ANYONE WHO CALLS AND CLAIMS TO REPRESENT THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT IS A FRAUD. PLEASE GET INFORMATION FROM THE CALLER AND NOTIFY THE POLICE". We don't have any problems, except a couple of whining letters from professional solicitors who came up empty handed while soliciting our area for other organizations. We have indicated to our State Legislators that we favor, and would work for, passage of laws that would ban solicitations by persons who are not members of the sponsoring organization.

[cozmosis]

Does this bother anybody else?

Yes. And I don't know why public safety organizations use folks like this to raise money.

A buddy of mine in college worked for a solicitation company. They raised money for police departments in Michigan. He said that many times, the company took a larger cut of the money than the police departments. If your organization is too lazy to raise money on your own... Please don't rob the people you serve by having this type of company do it for you.

[Bones42]

Happens all the time in NJ. P.F.M.B.A. (or whatever their initials are) send letters out all the time about donating to help your local fire departments. Problem is, they only support paid departments benefits. I even got a phone call at home from someone raising funds for them, it was very entertaining having them try to tell me all about my local fire protection.