Anonymous donor gives $20,000 to Wales-Genesee Fire Department

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Wales-Genesee Fire Chief Jim Moon got a call around Christmas time last year from someone wishing to remain anonymous.

That mystery-person asked what the department needed the most.

"So I told him well we need to replace our thermal imaging cameras, but they're $10,000 dollars apiece," Moon said. "OK thank you, he says. Hangs up the phone."

A month later, Moon opened something he thought was junk mail.

"I happened to open this one up instead of just throwing it away, and in it was a check for 20 thousand dollars."

Moon said the department had never seen anything like it.

"The biggest donations I've ever seen come into the department are for like prarie burns or a small donation here or there for like $1000 dollars or like $250 or something like that," Deputy Chief Tony Wasielewski said. "Never a $20,000 donation."

Moon says they used the donation to buy the thermal cameras. they can help them spot hot spots for fire, learn if people have been thrown from car accidents, and help them find missing people.

"We have to budget for a couple years sometimes to spend that kind of money, for equipment like this."

He says budgets are tight for most fire departments,especially the small ones, and any donation helps.

"These things are huge for small departments," Moon said. "I can't say enough about something like this, and how helpful it's been for us."



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