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As everyone is well aware, Sept. 11 was the one-year anniversary of tragic events. The fire service lost over 340 firefighters as a result of that tragedy. An event we as firefighters and a nation hope never to witness again. Shortly after Sept. 11 the Berkeley Firefighters Association set out to do whatever we could to assist our brothers and sisters of the fire department of New York City. As a membership, we went out to the community of Berkeley and began a campaign called, “Fill the Boot for the FDNY.” Firefighters from Berkeley were on street corners to raise donations for the families of the fallen firefighters of the FDNY. As a result of our efforts from the Fill the Boot campaign, the Berkeley Firefighters Association was able to raise $80,000. This money was donated to the Widows and Orphans Fund of the FDNY last December. 

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of over 100 members of the Berkeley Firefighters Association Local 1227 to thank the citizens of Berkeley and the surrounding communities, plus local merchants for their donations and hard work for our cause. The overwhelming support that we received from the community made our Fill the Boot campaign a huge success. 

Marc Mestrovich 

Berkeley Firefighters Association Local 1227