The Troup County Fire Department raised $4,922 during the Georgia Firefighter’s Burn Foundation Boot Drive from May 24 to May 26. TCFD Deputy Chief-Fire Marshal Kevin Norred said this year’s contribution was more than they have raised in recent years.

“Historically, we get $2,500 to $3,000,” Norred said. “Memorial Day weekend is usually a pretty good (day for raising money for the) foundation, but this was substantially more than in years past.”

According to the Georgia Firefighter’s Burn Foundation’s website, they help partner with fire services and the burn care community to teach fire prevention and safety, along with assisting burn survivors recovery.

“They do a couple of camps for burn victims, and then they have a couple of different mission fields where they do fire safety and preventative education,” Norred said.

“It’s important for us, all of us are service oriented, wanting to give back to the community and then to see this money used to treat burn victims or for prevention activities, it just means a lot to the guys to be able to contribute to that.”

Norred said they have held the drive for the burn foundation for more than 20 years. The TCFD also fundraises for Muscular Dystrophy Association in the fall.

According to the foundation’s website, more than 100 fire departments in the state collect through the Burn Boot Drive. The departments have raised more than $14 million during the drive since 1990.