Skip to main content

Roanoke fifth-graders raising funds for HFD equipment buy

Huntington Firefighter Greg Shearer watches as Roanoke Elementary School fifth-grader Sophie Riggers tries on his thermal imaging camera. The class is raising money to buy another device for the department.
Huntington Firefighter Greg Shearer watches as Roanoke Elementary School fifth-grader Sophie Riggers tries on his thermal imaging camera. The class is raising money to buy another device for the department. Photo provided.

Fifth-graders at Roanoke Elementary School are raising money to purchase a thermal imaging camera for the Huntington Fire Department.

The students have set up a store, called the Hope Chest, to sell small toys and candy to other students each Friday. The class chose to donate the proceeds to the Huntington Fire Department.

Thermal imaging cameras help the firefighters detect different temperatures even in heavy smoke, allowing them to quickly locate persons inside a burning building. The department currently has 15 of the cameras but would like to have one camera for each of the 35 firefighters.

If the class has any money left over after buying one of the devices, the extra money will go into a fund started by the firefighters to help purchase items for children who have lost things in fires and accidents.