The Fire Department is expanding its logo-bearing product line - which may soon even include bedding, swimwear and children's furniture.
With the FDNY's moniker and logo already on lunchboxes, backpacks and bottled water, the FDNY's nonprofit foundation, the Fire Safety Education Fund, is seeking to raise more cash for its endeavors.
"It's our job to increase licensing revenue and retail sales," said Stephen Ruzow, vice chairman of the fund.
Using a percentage of money gained from licensed merchandise and a significant portion of proceeds raised from retail efforts, the foundation supports educational and public-awareness programs.
It also "makes available funds the commissioner and the department might not be able to access due to cutbacks in the budget," Ruzow said.
Despite the fact that Christmas purchases slumped and the 9/11 factor is continuing to diminish, sales are still strong - "10 times the level of pre-9/11" - and the amount of licensing partnerships are increasing, Ruzow said.
"There is still a very strong demand for FDNY merchandise," he said.
Last year alone, licensing brought in between $1.2 million and $1.4 million in revenue.
And sales of T-shirts, hats, lunchboxes, pins and other goods raised just under $3 million at the Fire Zone Store at 50 Rockefeller Plaza, on the Fire Zone's Web site (www.fdnyfirezone.com) and from the Fire Zone's outpost at the 59th Street Bloomingdale's.
Striving to ring up $5 million in licensing revenue and millions of dollars more in retail sales, the fund will add new products to its merchandise line, run print ads in the top 10 markets directing readers to the Fire Zone's Web site and take a new approach with its biggest bust, bottled water, which has raised only a couple hundred dollars since its launch in March 2001.
