Athens Fire Chief Bryan Thornton

On Thursday night in Limestone County, a woman was going door to door seeking donations for Athens Fire & Rescue to buy equipment.

The problem: The local fire department is city-funded and its members don’t raise money by knocking on doors, said Athens Fire Chief Bryan Thornton.

He received a telephone call from someone reporting the activity and became concerned. The woman was apparently using the department’s name to collect donations for personal gain, which is illegal.

“We don’t do that,” Thornton told The News Courier. “Athens Fire & Rescue will never go door to door to solicit for donations. We are a municipal fire department, and we don’t raise money in that fashion. Our main budget is funded through the general fund.”

On Thursday night and Friday, city and fire officials used Facebook and NIXLE to get word out about the incident and how donations are actually gathered.

“We just want to get the information out there. That way, if someone continues to seek donations by going door to door, people will be educated,” Thornton said.

Auxiliary, MDA

While the city’s fire department does not raise money through donations, its auxiliary sometimes does. However, auxiliary members would never go outside the city limits to raise money because that is county volunteer fire department territory, Thornton said.

“We would never go out into the county, because volunteer departments depend on donations like that,” the chief said.

Once a year, residents may see Athens or county firefighters raising money for Fill the Boot, a campaign to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. However, firefighters engaged in that campaign would have identification and possibly wear turnout gear.

“Also, all of the money raised goes to MDA. It would not be us taking donations to buy equipment,” Thornton said.

County fundraising

When county volunteer firefighters go out into the county seeking donations, they always have a lanyard with their ID badge attached, the chief said. The ID lists the firefighter’s name and department, he said.

“Most of them try to go in a marked vehicle (one with the fire department’s name on its side). That way, the resident can tell they are legitimate,” Thornton said.

Also, county volunteer firefighters try to raise money within their community or territory, so they aren’t infringing on another volunteer department’s ability to raise funds, the chief said.