DOVER, N.H. --
A Dover firefighter is thanking his fellow firefighters for helping his family while he was serving in Iraq. The way he is doing it could win the department $100,000.
"So I just thought it was an opportunity to thank the fire department for what they did for my family while I was gone," said Dover Fire Department Capt. Jim Ormond.
Ormond and his wife said the firefighters did just about everything.
"Shoveling snow, patching up a window, couple of emergency room visits, the ambulance came for Robbie. They've done everything," said Ormond's wife Anne.
The firefighters even shared meals, remembered birthdays and built the kids a giant tree house. Ormond wrote about the kindness in an essay contest.
"The essay contest was written about some of the trials and tribulations my family had to endure while I was over in Iraq," Ormond said.
The contest is run by FireDog, the home installation arm of Circuit City.
After sifting through thousands of entries, Ormond's has been selected in the top ten.
For getting that far, the Dover department is already getting $20,000 to spend on gear.
"Twenty-thousand will definitely help. It'll help us buy equipment that we couldn't afford on our own," said Dover Fire Chief Perry Plummer.
From now until May 13 people can go to the FireDog Web site to vote for their favorite essay.
The department that gets the most votes will win the grand prize of $100,000.
Even if Dover does not win, FireDog will give them $1 for each vote the department gets.
