SUNBURY, Pa. — The Sunbury Fire Department responded to around 400 calls last year between its six volunteer companies. But as these firefighters help the public, they are now asking for help themselves.
"We still have insurance to pay. We still have utility bills to pay. Anybody who has a loan out to purchase their apparatus still has to make those loan payments," said Dan Saxton, treasurer of the Sunbury Fire Department.
Saxton says the volunteer companies depend on business from their social clubs to stay open. Because of the pandemic, the fire companies are not getting income from the social clubs.
"When those doors are opening and closing, they're losing revenue," Victoria Rosencrans said.
Rosencrans lives in Sunbury and started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help the Sunbury Fire Department.
"With the pandemic now, knocking on doors with a boot isn't going to happen," Rosencrans said.
The goal is $10,000.
Rosencrans is issuing a challenge for all Sunbury residents to donate $1 per person per household for the fundraiser.
"We can make that $10,000 goal easy. Give up a Dunkin Donuts coffee or a candy bar. $1, I challenge you; even $1 goes a long way. It's so important," Rosencrans said.
"It's going right back to help maintain the stations and that sort of thing so we can continue to operate and to keep the apparatus on the street when people need us," Saxton said.