Last November Volusia County Fire Services lost one of our firefighters to a training accident. Although we have a benevolence fund set up, we could never have projected the cost of dealing with the loss of one of our members. We are fortunate enough to have a Union with 188 members and enough money to cover the costs, but we also know that it was a heavy burden. The estimated costs to date have exceeded $15,000 and we plan to spend another $8,000 to send the family to Emmitsburg and Colorado Springs for the firefighter memorial ceremonies this year. The IAFF does not have any assistance programs set up to help bring family members to the memorials.
In an attempt to help our Local, as well as other Locals throughout the state, we have set up a fund raiser that has been approved by Jim Tolley, FPF 9th District Vice President. We are selling shirts for $15 (extra for XXL and larger sizes), including shipping, with proceeds to be distributed evenly to each Local in Florida that is eligible to send family members to the memorial sites. The goal is to cover expenses for 2 Union leaders, as well as a few family members to attend. Our estimated costs for each location are about $800 per person per location, to include food, airfare, hotel, and rental car.
Shirts will ship about 3 weeks after the order is received. We will be accepting orders through the end of September. Please feel free to share this opportunity to other firefighters as well as non firefighters. Our goal is to sell as many shirts as possible.
Thank you,
John Calache
President
IAFF Local 3574
386.689.1653
© 2008 IAFF Local 3574