Firefighters warn of telephone scam

Cathy Scott

Tuesday, June 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Calls citizens are receiving from telemarketers using the name "Firefighters Association of America" are bogus, said Dean Fletcher, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 1285.

At a Monday news conference, Fletcher said one woman agreed to give the caller a donation and a man arrived at her house within 10 minutes.

"They come get the check and off they go," Fletcher said. "She called us afterward and realized she'd been had."

A local chiropractor, who happens to be a former firefighter, was also called, but he didn't give them money, Fletcher said.

"He realized it was bogus and called us," Fletcher said. "Telemarketers who aren't approved are taking the funds out of state and it doesn't benefit local firefighters. They make promises that will never happen. Your local firefighters will never, ever see that money."

Fletcher said the group is a bogus national organization. The union has received calls from people across the nation warning about the group. But last week was the first time officials heard of the group operating locally.

Deputy Chief Ed Wood's advice to the public is to call the telemarketing fraud unit or local firefighters to verify that the fund-raising effort is real.

"To come in and falsely benefit from our good reputation is wrong," Wood said.