A local Firehouse Subs Restaurant has donated nearly $20,000 in equipment to the Tucson Fire Department.
Department representatives, on Wednesday, were presented with five air-purifying respirators, which are worn by firefighters when they are exposed to fiery or toxic environments, a news release from the restaurant stated. The equipment cost more than $18,600.
Firehouse Subs opened its first Tucson-area location at 3844 W. River Road
in southwest Marana in June 2012. The local franchise owner, Bob Westerman, plans to open two more locations β one near the Tucson Mall and one in Oro Valley β by the end of the year, according to a December Arizona Daily Star article.
Two brothers who also were firefighters started firehouse Subs. In 2005, they created the non-profit Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. Itβs mission: To provide funding, life-saving equipment and resources to first-responders and public safety organizations. Since then, the foundation has donated $8.3 million to first responder organizations in 39 states and Puerto Rico, including more than $202,800 in Arizona, the news release stated.
Each restaurant in the chain raises donations through three fundraising initiatives: selling leftover, five-gallon pickle buckets for $2 apiece; collecting spare change in canisters on the counters; and asking customers to round up their bills to the nearest dollar amount and donating the change to the foundation.
