PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — Firefighters in Petersburg who are dealing with severe budget cuts got a helping today Friday from shoppers at a local Walmart. They teamed up with a local radio station to raise money to keep brand new equipment that hasn’t been paid for yet.
“Well, I’m not really sure what the goal is, I think it’s more of an effort to show some solidarity, regardless of what the numbers look like at the end of the day,” Deputy Fire Chief Brian Sturdivant told 8News Reporter Jonathan Costen.
Earlier this week, city leaders made a crucial decision to not shot down one of the city’s four fire stations; they originally planned to shut down one of them to help make ends meet.
But that doesn’t mean the department is out of the woods just yet.
“We still have some challenges because the dollar amount that we saved by not shutting down the fire department has now been shifted to the fire department,” Sturdivant added. “So, we have to look for that same dollar amount in other areas of the organization.”
Officials say the money collected Friday will be used to help pay for firefighter gear; they currently owe more than $30,000. If the sum isn’t paid by next week, the equipment could be repossessed.
Some donors said donating to the cause was easy.
“Because they protect us at all times, 24 hours a day,” Petersburg resident Datris Biagas said.
And for anyone possibly worried about where the money is going …
“Get a money order and send it directly to the company that’s owed; we won’t let the City of Petersburg touch the money,” added community activist Ricky Johnson. “We want to show people our money went to what they’re donating to today. That’s the number one purpose.”
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