Hot about solicitation

I must begin by saying that I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the men and women of the Spokane Fire Department. On a daily basis, they serve our community with character and professionalism.

With that in mind, I am livid at the prospect that someone is trying to bilk the public by using the name of our firefighters to line their pockets.

Recently, we received our fifth telephone call from someone asking for our support for “our firefighters.” When asked for which firefighters this support was intended, the caller just slipped on to the next line of his pitch. With each call we declined. These calls have the smack of so many other “charities” that solicit money and retain as much as 80 percent for administrative costs. The bottom line is that the worthy cause gets very little of the amount donated.

With yesterday’s call, when we declined our support, the caller responded with, “I just hope the fire department can respond when you call them.”

The Spokane Fire Department should consider this kind of representation nothing less than a slander against their commitment to our community. The SFD protects all homes within their jurisdiction. To imply that service is contingent upon a donation is outrageous. Do not support these “dialing for dollars” scammers. Your tax dollars support the SFD.

John Buckmaster

Spokane