Vermilion stuffs fire truck with school supplies for students

While the final count is still being tallied, Vermilion Fire Chief William Brown said that he believed the department's Stuff the Fire Truck event on Saturday had broken its own record for school supplies collected for local students. Saturday was the third annual Vermilion Fire Department stuff-the-truck event, which Brown implemented when he was named chief. He said that the department had collected more than $500 in cash donations as well as hundreds of additional school supplies from residents. Brown said that he would not have the final accounting done until Monday, but he thinks the department had broken its prior record of more than $1,890 in donations. "We filled up a small SUV and we put a lot of stuff in the fire truck itself as well, so I am optimistic that it was much better than last year," Brown said. The event was held on the state's sales tax holiday weekend so the department could "get more bang for our buck" and in partnership with DrugMart. Brown also thanked the Vermilion Pizza Hut, as the business donated coupons that firefighters gave to every person who donated. "Obviously we do our job and that is one thing, but I think that the more you can give back to the community as a department, the better," Brown said. "It's good for the community, it's good for us and obviously it gets us out there in front of the people and doing good things. I think that is really important." All of the donated supplies will be taken to Vermilion Schools by members of the department. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.