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Ill Firefighter Needs Assistance

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A CLIO, MICHIGAN, FIREFIGHTER HAS BECOME DISABLED because of a genetic kidney disease.  Darin DeFreese has a rare disease called L-Cat Deficiency that causes his kidneys to shut down.  He had a transplant kidney in 1998, but now that one is failing, too.  He is on the waiting list for another, but that could take a few years.

WJRT-TV has a video report on his tragic story HERE.

In the meantime he has become too ill to work and his medical bills are piling up.  He has to take 11 pills every morning plus regular visits for hemodialysis.

The Clio Fire Dept. and the Township held a fund-raiser silent auction and spaghetti dinner Saturday afternoon, but they are still gratefully accepting any donations.  If you wish to help out, you can send a donation to:

Thetford Township Hall
4014 E. Vienna Rd.
Clio, MI

Keep Voting! – - 10 Days Left

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WE HOPE YOU HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN THE WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION and their contest entry for best race car paint job.  We first told you about it this past Sunday HERE.  They are raising funds for their charitable organization by gathering votes in the contest.  From last Sunday’s posting:

THE WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION ASSISTS the families of fallen and injured wildland firefighters.  They are currently enrolled in a contest where you can help them raise funds by doing nothing more a simple mouse-click.

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Toyota is sponsoring a competition to create a winning design for one of their NASCAR Sprint Cup series cars and the winner will have their car’s design painted on the car.  You vote online by clicking on a link and the more votes they get, the more money they raise.  And if their design makes it into the “top ten,” then the prizes get bigger.  You can vote once a day every day until March 14.  CLICK HERE to place your vote now.

Learn more about the Wildland Firefighters Foundation HERE.

You can also give them a boost by clicking on the re-Tweet and Facebook buttons on the top right.  That helps them out a lot too by spreading this message.  So click on Tweet, click on f-Share, the CLICK HERE once every day to cast your vote.

Help the Wildland Firefighters Foundation

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THE WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION ASSISTS the families of fallen and injured wildland firefighters.  They are currently enrolled in a contest where you can help them raise funds by doing nothing more a simple mouse-click.

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Toyota is sponsoring a competition to create a winning design for one of their NASCAR Sprint Cup series cars and the winner will have their car’s design painted on the car.  You vote online by clicking on a link and the more votes they get, the more money they raise.  And if their design makes it into the “top ten,” then the prizes get bigger.  You can vote once a day every day until March 14.  CLICK HERE to place your vote now.

Learn more about the Wildland Firefighters Foundation HERE.

Chicago Donates Ambulances to Haiti Relief Effort

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THE CITY OF CHICAGO HAS REFURBISHED THREE recently-retired ambulances and is sending them to Haiti as part of the relief efforts.

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The three units were overhauled and refurbished at the city’s expense and then private donors completed the effort by stocking them medical supplies, baby wipes, bicycles, bottled water and blankets.  WBBM reports:

Off-duty fire personnel are driving them to Miami, Fla., for transport to Haiti, and will train Haitian personnel in their use. (Mayor) Daley said two of the ambulances will be used by Hospital St. Croix, in Leogane, near Port-au-Prince, to transport patients, while volunteer firefighters will be given the third ambulance to transport patients to all area hospitals.

Daley said the city is paying the cost of gas to get the ambulances to Florida. He said that donors are picking up all other costs associated with the transport, including food and hotels for the drivers.

Pre-Christmas Fire Brings Out Community Spirit

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THE SMALL COMMUNITY OF LORETTO, MINNESOTA, came together yesterday to help out their neighbors that were burned out Tuesday by a fire in their apartment building.

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The century-old, wood frame structure had been the town’s general store for many decades until it was converted into eight apartments.  Seven of them were occupied Tuesday when a maintenance worker decided to use an electric heating element to thaw a frozen water pipe in the wall of the building.  The heater started the fire that raced through the old structure,eventually bringing the roof in and destroying the entire building.

Because of the severity of the weather which was hovering around the zero-degree F. mark, and the inability of the town water supply to adequately provide enough fire flow, about 20 surrounding fire departments responded on the mutual-aid call.  The operation set up a tanker relay and provided enough manpower to rotate the crews every 20 minutes until the fire was out.

The residents took shelter at the Choo Choo Restaurant just down the street, and almost immediately the rest of the townsfolk started pitching in to find clothing, food and cash help for the refugees, including replacing all the lost Christmas gifts that went down with the apartments.

KMSP-TV Ch. 9 has a good video report on the fire and the town’s post-fire activity to help the residents:

Hat tip:  Scott A.

An Angel Comes to Knightstown

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THE KNIGHTSTOWN, INDIANA, VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT was just two weeks away from having to close their doors when a true angel dropped in to save the department.  The community VFD located on the National Road just east of Indianapolis, was equipped with SCBA’s from a manufacturer that went out of business recently, and they were faced with a forced shutdown because they were unable to get the air packs re-certified.

The $75,000 needed to replace their SCBA’s was too much for them to come up with and the prospects looked gloomy.

By a bit of fortune the department’s chaplain, Mark Tabb is a professional writer who is currently authoring the memoirs of Helen Rosburg, the heiress to the Wrigley chewing gum fortune.  Knowing that she is well-connected with many wealthy and charitable organizations, Tabb asked her for some advice on how to secure a donation that was desperately needed to keep the VFD operating.

But instead of giving him advice, Miss Rosburg stepped up and donated the sum herself.  Yesterday she came by the firehouse to meet the members and they had a nice thank-you party where they made her an honorary lifetime member.  WRTV Ch. 6 Indianapolis had their video crew there and filed this nice report:

Chili Cook-Off Winners Announced

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THE WPI FIREFIGHTERS FUND in Fort Worth, Texas, has released the list of winners of their 5th Annual Stop-Drop-and-Roll Chili Cook-Off that was held 10 days ago.

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Visit the WPI Firefighters Fund WEBPAGE HERE.

Corporate Charity in Rochester for Vol. FF

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A UNION HILL, NEW YORK, VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER HAD A TRAGIC turn of health recently.  Longtime member, Marty Blakely was on vacation this summer when he became ill from a blood clot in his leg.  Diagnosis found that the clot was a product of a cancerous tumor in his leg and it had to be amputated.  Marty has a family and now a very limited means of support, so the FD held a fund-raiser to help with his expenses.

When someone at the Rochester Scooter Store heard of his plight, they went through corporate headquarters and tapped into the company’s “Gift of Mobility” program, which provides mobility equipment and assistance to those who do not have the resources or insurance to obtain power wheelchairs and scooters.  At the fund-raiser in the Damascus Shrine Center, he was presented with a 3-wheel electric scooter.

“Marty is a young man with a young family who is going through an incredible journey right now,” said Fire Department Chief Brian Ball. “A past chief and dedicated volunteer, he is now in a day-to-day struggle at just 41 years old.  Mobility is a huge issue since he lost his leg. His inability to care for himself without aid is a major physical and emotional obstacle.”

The full story of this wonderful gesture can be read in this release issued through PRNewswire HERE.

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Union Hill FD photo of Station 1

Visit the Union Hill Fire Department WEBSITE.

Anchorage City Council Gives MDA the Boot

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AS THE ANNUAL LABOR DAY “FILL THE BOOT” CRANKS UP around the nation, the Anchorage, Alaska, Mayor and City Manager are telling the FD that this will likely be the last year that they will be able to stand on the city streets to gather donations.

The city council has been granting special exemptions to allow the firefighters to ignore the current statute that prohibits the solicitation of funds on the city’s right of ways.  “The issue is public safety and liability,” City Manager George Vakalis said. “Under the current conditions that we are operating today, with the current ordinances, they will not be able to conduct this activity next year in this manner. That doesn’t mean they can’t do it some other way. But they just can’t do it in the right of way until certain things change.”

The council left open the possibility that they will entertain a change in the ordinance that will allow the firefighters to continue the collection next year.  This year they are being allowed to collect as stated in their exemption.  KTUU-TV has this video report on the development:

Sperian Skimps Exhibit For Charity

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SPERIAN FIRE, MANUFACTURERS OF PROTECTIVE GEAR, respiratory apparatus and instrumentation, has a crew that travels the fire/rescue exhibit circuit throughout the U. S. and Canada.

Those of you who visited the FDIC last month may have noticed that their booth was sparsely furnished this year.  Instead of paying for the extensive decoration and equipping of the exhibit space, they donated the money that they would have spent to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

From their press release:

“Even with the economy down, we can’t desert the people who protect us all,” said Bill Sokol, Vice President Marketing for Sperian Fire. “At Sperian we decided to take the money we normally spend to ship, assemble, dismantle and return our large FDIC exhibit booth – roughly $100,000 US – and use it for a donation to help the families of fallen heroes.”

 In a unique twist, the donation will not be made in Sperian Fire’s name, but rather in the names of any US and Canadian firefighters who take a moment to sign the donation registry at www.sperianfire.com/.  Registrants have an opportunity to offer a few words of encouragement or make their donations in memory of individual fallen comrades.

 Beginning at the FDIC show on April 23 and continuing through June 30, Sperian Fire will be collecting names from participating members of the firefighting community to present with the final donation checks to the two organizations. The donor names will not be used for any sales purpose.

 “We felt this was a great opportunity to help firefighters get personally involved in showing their support for this important cause without actually asking them for a donation,” Sokol said.  “Instead, we’re putting up the money to give in their names.”

In other words, they’re putting up the cash, all you need to do to support the program is CLICK HERE and fill out the brief form.

 

Pumper Donated To Alabama VFD

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THE NICOL VOL. FIRE DEPARTMENT, near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was the happy recipient last week of  a modern pumper that was donated by the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund of Wantagh, New York.

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Nicol VFD’s upgraded Engine 1

The charitable trust that was established in honor of an FDNY firefighter who perished in the 9/11 massacre, purchased and delivered, at no charge to the Nicol VFD, a Pierce Arrow Class A fire engine.

It will be replacing a 1971 FMC that will in turn be handed over to another needy department in Tuscaloosa County.

Longtime Firegeezer readers may recall that the Nicol VFD was the home of the “Dalmation Chicken” stunt that was pulled on a bunch of city slickers many years ago (see our posting on it HERE).

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Learn more about the Terry Farrell FF Fund at their WEBSITE HERE.

Firegeezer adds:  This is a wonderful story that illustrates what is going on behind the public’s view frequently.  Truly, firefighters helping their comrades when in need. 

And there are so many other rural departments that can use this kind of help that it makes you wonder about places like the Washington, D. C. FD that give away even better apparatus than this to a foreign country in exchange for a week’s stay at a Caribbean resort hotel.  The word “charity” has different meanings in different places.

Free Pumper Contest Finalists Announced

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NOT LONG AGO, E-ONE STARTED RUNNING A CONTEST that will award a brand-new fire engine to the winner.  The lucky fire department who wins will be announced at the presentation of the prize at this year’s FDIC in Indianapolis.

This past Monday E-One announced the seven finalists that were selected based on the merits of their required essays submitted that told why they needed a new fire engine.

The finalists are worthy recipients all, and represent fire departments in Jackson County, Oregon; Washington County, Florida;  Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; Hines, Oregon; Clay County, Kentucky; Powellsville, North Carolina;  and Weaverville, California.

WVEC-TV in Norfolk, Virginia, ran this video report on one of the finalists, nearby Powellsville, No. Carolina, and is a good example of the type of competition there is out there:

YOU CAN JOIN IN AND VOTE for whoever you think should receive this generous prize.  Just CLICK HERE and go to E-One’s contest page where you can read all seven essays, pick your favorite and vote right there online.

Mmmmm …… Chili !

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AND OCTOBER IS A GREAT MONTH TO BE IN TEXAS

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Last year’s cook-off had 80 chili teams and raised $123,656.84 for the WPI Firefighters’ Fund.  CLICK HERE for more information.

Hot, Hot, Hot

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THE UNITED PHOENIX FIREFIGHTERS PUBLIC CHARITY held its 2nd annual Firefighters Chili Challenge yesterday (Saturday) with 25 teams of firefighters from around Arizona competing for the chili championship.

The event was focused on the chili, of course.  But there was also plenty of live music and ancillary events to entertain the whole family.

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One of the most-coveted prizes is the award for Best Booth Design which brings out an additional bit of pride for the contestants.

While we’re waiting for the results from yesterday’s hotly-contested challenge, take a look at this lead-up video report from KSAZ-TV:

Fire/Rescue-Related Charitable Foundation

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THERE IS A NEW CHARITABLE FOUNDATION that has been established to assist fire departments and FF’s families that are in need worldwide.

Gear Up Foundation has set out as its mission:

To honor those who perished, served and were affected by the events of September 11th 2001 by promoting international brotherhood and goodwill, providing equipment, education and hope to firefighters and children in need worldwide. Bringing our world closer together as “Ambassadors of Goodwill” exemplified by the passion, bravery and brotherhood of firefighters representing all that is good about those who answer the call.

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You can learn more about them by visiting their WEBSITE HERE.

PO Box 911
South Salem, NY 10590 
A Federally Certified 501(c)3 Foundation
Office:    631 869 5607  
Toll Free:800 601 3493

Attention, Peach-Staters

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The Atlanta Fire Foundation, the Atlanta Police Foundation, and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team are holding a fundraiser on Friday, February 27th at Phillips Arena.
 
Beginning at 1pm, teams from Atlanta Fire Rescue and Atlanta Police Department will compete fullcourt, 5 on 5, to see which department has the best game. 
 
Award presentations will be prior to the Hawks vs. Miami Heat game at 7:30 that evening, with a special half-time challenge by the Fire and Police Chiefs.
 
Proceeds from the event go to the Atlanta Fire Foundation and the Atlanta Police Foundation.  Tickets prices are as follows:
 
Lower Level / Section 100-110 with Chick-fil-A voucher – $42.25 each,
Mid Level / Section 221 with Chick-fil-A voucher – $37-25 each, and
Upper Level / Section 315 with souviner Hawks jersey and $8 concessoins voucher for $30.

Can You Help A Sister Out?

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I get some of my university EMS course content by surfing the blogosphere.  A Day In The Life of An Ambulance Driver made the following post:

The House of DeFrance Has A Leaky Roof
If any of you EMS types have never visited the House of DeFrance, you’ve been missing one of the longest running, most useful EMS resources on teh Intarwebz. It’s chock full of EMS stories, news, free widgets and web content, EMS gifts for purchase, and a vast library of EMS student and instructor resources.

And this entire EMS web cornucopia is compiled and administrated by one woman – for free – over a freakin’ dial up internet connection from Hope, Alaska. How she does it is beyond me.

Well, however she does it, her home server and several of her peripherals have, in IT parlance, sh!t the bed. Without a reliable ‘puter, the House has developed the aforementioned leaky roof, along with some cracks in the foundation.

If you’ve ever enjoyed visiting HOD, won’t you take a moment to donate however small the amount?

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Valerie was laid off November 2008.  I just sent my PayPal donation. 

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Soap Box Derby Was Never Like This …

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WHAT DO KIDS DO WHEN THEY GET TOO OLD to enter the annual Soap Box Derby?  In England they just make bigger carts and take them to the Downhill Soapbox Race.

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photo by James Wardell

This event is held to to raise money for When You Wish Upon A Star, a charity for terminally ill children and its 5th annual race was held this past weekend. 

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More than 40 teams entered carts that are designed to carry two driver/passengers and on the 1/2-mile downhill course they sometimes get up to 40 mph.  About halfway along the course is the haybale chicane that manages to narrow the field. 

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The fire brigade was represented

Prizes are awarded for the quickest cart, the best design and the one that travels the shortest distance before crashing, among several other prizes.

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The West Midlands Express and Star has this nice video report:

Online Golfing For Jerry's Kids

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RHETT FLEITZ AT VAFireNews wants all of us to be aware of a collaboration between the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and the World Golf Tour.

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They are running a virtual tournament through October 31 that you can enter and play online.  It looks like you get to choose a world-renowned golf course to video-play a round with the entry fees going to the MDA. 

Click HERE and check out the rules and opportunities.
(IAFF members have a separate login entry HERE.)

6th Great Gorilla Run Goes Grandly

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THE 6th ANNUAL GREAT GORILLA RUN was held today (Saturday) in London.  The 7 km running event had 750 people dressed in gorilla costumes running for charity.

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Press Association

The yearly fun-run was staged by The Gorilla Organisation, a charity which protects the endangered apes in central African rainforests.  Jillian Miller, the charity director, told The Telegraph: “The event has got better every year and the atmosphere among the runners and spectators is incredible. We hope to raise £200,000.”

And of course, our camera was there:

D. C. Area FF's Pitch In For Hero2Hero

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Last year Firegeezer alerted our readers to the magnificent Hero To Hero program originated and run by Liz Jackson of Tacoma, Washington. Her project involves collecting tens of thousands of T-shirts from fire, ems and police departments throughout the United States and Canada. These are then sent to deployed military troops in the Middle East with attempts to match up T-shirts with troops from the same locales. From heroes to heroes.

All the shirts are signed with good wishes and the signatures of the groups that are donating them and they are a tremendously big hit with the troops. You can read more about her project at the Hero To Hero website HERE.

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This year Liz was restricted from her annual tour across the continent visiting 55 cities in 55 days because of an unfortunate medical problem. But she was able to get out to a few of them and this year’s last stop was at the Pentagon on Memorial Day. Since she couldn’t travel to the D. C. area departments, they all sent representatives – and over 400 T-shirts – to the Pentagon parking lot to put on a lovely greeting and presentation for Liz and her husband.

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Joel Kobersteen addresses the participants
and presents the shirts to the Hero-To-Hero campaign.

Joel Kobersteen of IAFF Local 2068, Fairfax County, Va., organized and coordinated the event. It was such a success that Liz “appointed” Joel to be the East Coast organizer of next year’s tour. Liz keeps a blog journal of all her visits over the past few years and you can read her entry for this stop HERE. Click on it and you’ll see the photo gallery of nearly 200 pictures taken at the Pentagon that day, too.

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Liz Jackson addresses the gathering

Firegeezer has Joel’s assurance that he’ll be passing on next year’s plans in plenty of time to help get our many readers involved with it. We’re looking forward to helping out.

The fire and police agencies that participated in the Memorial Day event were:
* Fairfax County (VA) Fire & Rescue Department and Local 2068
* City of Fairfax (VA) Fire Department and Local 2702
* Stafford County (VA) Fire & Rescue Department and Local 4012
* Arlington County (VA) Fire Department and Local 2800
* Charlottesville (VA) Fire Department and Local 2363
* Harrisonburg (VA) Fire Department and Local 3254
* Loudoun County (VA) Fire and Rescue Department and Local 3756
* Washington, D.C. Fire & EMS Department and Local 36
* Prince Georges County (MD) Fire Department and Local 1619
* Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Fire Department and
Local 3217
* National Capital Area Federal Fire Fighters Local F121
* Fairfax County (VA) Police Department and IUPA Local 5000
* Pentagon Police Department

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TV Channel 5 interviews Liz for the evening news

Have You Outgrown Your Bra?

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THE YORKSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE IN ENGLAND has been given an extra lift this week.

A women’s charitable club, the Soroptimist International, has organized a campaign to collect unwanted women’s underwear (no smart remarks, please….FG) to be resold in 3rd-world countries that cannot afford the new stuff.  The proceeds from the sale are being used to give added support to the local air ambulance.

“What You Take Off  Helps Us Take Off” is the campaign slogan for the Bag It Up project.  Campaign organizer Linda Gerraghty said: “This is an ideal time of year to have a good cupboard clear-out and pass on any unused new or good quality used bras for this worthwhile cause to help less fortunate women worldwide.”

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Halifax Courier/Swift photo

One of the local shops has helped fill the cup by donating 114 new bras.  The overall goal is to collect 200,000 bras which will raise £10,000 and pay for more than 30 air missions.

The Halifax Courier has this uplifting story HERE.

Helping Fill The Boot

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WHEN THE STAFFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIA Fire and Rescue members started counting out their collection from the weekend’s “Fill the Boot” campaign, they came across something a little unusual.  Amongst the coins, bills and fake fingernails they found a men’s wedding ring.

They’re now out looking for somebody who’s been sleeping in his car for the last couple of nights.

The Free Lance-Star has the full STORY.

IAFF Blasts Last Year's Record For MDA Contributions

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THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, the union representing fire and rescue workers in the U. S. and Canada,  announced yesterday that its members raised a record-setting $25.5 million for the MDA.  Appearing on the Muscular Dystrophy Association tele-thon, IAFF President Harold Schaitberger informed Jerry Lewis of the preliminary count and stated that the total exceeded last year’s collection by nearly $2 million.

More on the IAFF WEBSITE.

FDNY Beefcake Calendar Cancelled

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The 11th annual FDNY “Calendar of Heroes” was released on this past Tuesday with much publicity and a brief ceremony.  The calendar is produced by the FDNY Foundation, a nonprofit organization that, while independent of the Fire Department, raises money for FDNY equipment and training.

However, shortly after this year’s release it was disclosed that the “cover boy” had previously acted in a commercial porn video and withheld the fact during the “vetting” process for this year’s issue.

An obviously angry Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta responded to the salacious developments by prohibiting city firefighters from ever posing for the charity calendar.  This year’s print run already available will continue to be sold, but there will be no more.  Not this year, nor again.

“We will no longer be participating in this. There will be no more calendars,” said FDNY spokesman Francis Gribbon.

“We are in agreement with the decision,” said Jean O’Shea, the foundation’s executive director. “We’re disappointed, but the department’s reputation is more important than raising money.”

You can read the full story in today’s Daily News HERE.
The New York Post also has a STORY.

Firegeezer adds:  As a field officer, I would be very concerned about his decision-making processes.  In this case Biserta chose to put his own self interest ahead of what was good for the department by hiding any potentially damaging information about himself.  How is he going to respond during an emergency incident when complete teamwork is vital for the success of the operation?  Is he going to revert to his natural selfishness, or will he perform as the overall scheme requires?  Personally, right now I would be hesitant to give him any decision-making responsibilities.