They used to

just put out the fires, patch up the wounds and if necessary get you to

the hospital safely.

But now Fayette

County's firefighters and emergency medical personnel have cranked their

helping nature up a notch. Through the "Helping the Helpers"

program, they have donated an estimated $17,300 in goods to local charities

who help assist needy residents in the area.

Mark Johnson,

a firefighter/EMT who organizes the program, said it has been more successful

than he imagined. The donations have ranged from the basics, such as food,

clothes and furniture, to toys, games and books.

All those donations

go to local charitable groups such as the Fayette Samaritans, the Fayette

County Council on Domestic Violence and the Braelinn Baptist Church community

services division.

Those organizations

step in to help local residents long after firefighters, EMTs and paramedics

have left the scene, Johnson noted.

"We call

on them when there's a family that has been burned out of their home or

of we find a family in need," Johnson said. He added that paramedics

and EMTs sometimes run across local families who are barely getting by

and could use some help.

Johnson, who

has spearheaded the program, sends out a monthly letter to each county

fire station listing the items received along with the employee who made

the donation.

"That

way, everybody can look at it and see where it's going," Johnson

said.

Often, it's

just a matter of digging around the closet or cleaning out the basement

of items that aren't used anymore, Johnson said. He added that he has

been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the donations, which he

inspects item by item before distributing them to the charities.

"It has

been a tremendous outpouring from everybody in the department," Johnson

said. "I get calls and e-mails from all the stations."

Johnson picks

up donations at the stations when summoned, and he takes the items to

his garage where he can sort and inspect them.

Each employee

gets an itemized list of what they donated from Johnson and can get a

receipt for tax purposes from the agency that received the goods.

"We're

doing this year-round because people just don't need help during the holidays,"

Johnson said.