LON SLEPICKA
Firehouse.Com News
The efforts to raise money for the victims of the New York City World Trade
Center terrorist attack have swept up fire departments across the nation.
Firehouse.com, itself promoting and accepting donations on behalf of the
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) 'The New York Fire 9-11
Disaster Relief Fund', has received a great deal of e-mail telling of fund
raising efforts.
One of the largest collections reported so far has been an effort that put
together WTVD ABC TV Channel 11 in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area
and fire departments in their 22 county market.
They went for $1 million and appear to have reached it.
Station Community Affairs Director Monica Barnes said it was the idea of
station President and General Manager Valari Stabb to call on the fire
department chiefs and see if a concerted one-day fund-raiser could be done.
Barnes said the station offered to promote the effort and do live broadcasts
at several locations where firefighters were collecting.
Beginning at 5 a.m. Monday, the station worked with the firefighters until 8
p.m. running “crawls” across the bottom of the television screen and showing
the effort live. Band of America accepted the donations into a special
account for the FDNY 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund. Barnes said she knew they
had over $1 million and were still counting.
Don Tschida, firefighter and haz-mat technician with Fayetteville
Fire/Emergency Management Department, and Lt. Lake Rim VFD, said dozens of
firefighters held fill-the-boot locations throughout Cumberland County.
Efforts were still going on but the 34 station houses in the city and
suburbs were approaching $200,000.
“It was a wonderful thing,” Tschida said. “People were coming up to us and
telling us how much they loved firefighters.”
“We wish we could do more, but when we told them it was going straight to
the widows and orphans, it just touched their heart. I saw one guy drop
money in four different times,” Tschida said.
Other Donations
Yellowknife Fire Department (Northwest Territories, Canada) $28,000
Perry Township Volunteer Fire Department in Colfax, Indiana $600
The Pittsford (Vermont) Volunteer Fire Department, Pittsford $15,000
Bangor City (Maine) Fire Department over $25,000
Hampden (Maine) Fire Department $5,000
Ravenna City (OHIO) Fire Department $21,000.00
Westlake (TEXAS) Fire Department and Austin / Travis County EMS Medic 21 over $100,000.
Medina (Ohio) Firefighters Association $6316.38
Jasper, Tri-Community, East End, Roganville, Lake Rayburn and Angelina River Volunteer Fire Departments $22,683.
Channelview Volunteer Fire Department over $11,000
Tarrytown (NY) Volunteer Fire Department over $53,000. Additional $1,000 per company has been donated by the each of the six volunteer companies in the Tarrytown Department.
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