Members of the Irvington Fire Division were out in force once again on Lyons Avenue on Thursday, Nov. 9, in support of the annual Fill the Boot fundraising campaign, on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
IRVINGTON, NJ — Anyone driving down Lyons Avenue near the border between Irvington and Newark on Thursday, Nov. 9, would have seen members of the Irvington Fire Division outside their trucks and engines, in the middle of the street, asking drivers and passersby to “fill the boot” as they collected donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
“Out here today, we have Ladder 41 from Station 1 and Engine 42 from Station 2 and we’re out here trying to ‘Fill the Boot’ for MDA,” said Capt. Ben LaGuerre, commander of Engine 44, on Thursday, Nov. 9. “Hopefully, it’s a good day. We do it every year.”
The campaign combines the efforts of the Irvington Fire Division firefighters and officers for a good cause, and helps dispel myths about what firefighters do when not actually fighting fires.
“Basically, we do more than just lay around the firehouse, like some people think we do,” said Alex Lima, president of the Irvington Fire Division FMBA Local 14, on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The union represents the rank-and-file firefighters in the division. The union’s vice president, firefighter Mike Scott, agreed with Lima, adding that the real reason behind the annual Fill the Boot campaign is to help those in need, as firefighters are sworn to do.
“I think, in total, we raised about $8,700 so far,” said Scott on Tuesday, Nov. 14. “But we have a shift that still has to do it tomorrow.”
Irvington Fire Division Capt. Kaimu Suggs is president of the division’s Superior Officers Association union, which represents the ranking officers; he said the job all firefighters share is service to the community.
“That’s our muscular dystrophy fundraiser boot drive. We did it four days at different locations at major intersections in town,” said Suggs on Tuesday, Nov. 14. “We usually do it around this time of every year and we raise approximately $9,000 to $12,000 a year, over the four-day attempt. The citizens really come through and support with donations for this worthy cause.”
Irvington Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers, a former Irvington police officer, said he’s always respected and appreciated such charitable efforts in Irvington; now that he commands the combined Fire and Police divisions, he said he has an even greater understanding of who they are and why they do what they do.
Bowers’ deputy director is John Brown, who retired from the Newark Fire Department; Brown brings his experience with the fire service to the combined department, much as Bowers does with his own police department background.
“The Fire Division has done a great job, year after year, in fundraising for such a worthy cause,” said Bowers on Tuesday, Nov. 14. “I applaud them for their big hearts and always caring.”
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