Firefighters group raising donations for Los Angeles fire victims and unfunded needs for fire personnel

CARPINTERIA, Calif. - A support group for firefighters in the Carpinteria area is stepping up to be another gathering spot for Los Angeles area fire relief donations.

The newly formed Santa Barbara South Coast Firefighter Foundation is a non-profit to help the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District and other regional fire needs.

In this case they are collecting for specific needs in the greater Los Angeles area that has been devastated by wildfires in the last week.

At both the downtown Carpinteria main fire station on Walnut Avenue and the second station site on Lillie Avenue in Summerland, donation boxes have been set up.

The call out is for children and pet items primarily.    

Cots and air mattresses along with blankets have been requested.

Firefighter Foundation Vice President, Pat Cockrum , says "I have two kids as well and I know the amount of diapers we use and the amount of wipes that we use and having toys for them is a sense of normalcy, something a kid needs and when a disaster happens they don't understand what's going on."

Gail Kvistad with the foundation says, "we are also looking out for dogs and cats. If you have dog food, cat food, leashes or things like that we can use all of that."

The firefighters will also be collecting essentials for firefighters that are not available at the base camps.

The organizers will bring down truckloads of donations on a regular basis to specific sites in the L.A. area for distributions.

Kvistad said she has seen many contributions coming in from throughout the area in the last few days, which speaks to the compassion of the area. "We are so blessed to live in this community that really cares. Everybody I called has said 'what can I do?'  'How can I help you?' 'What do you need?'"

For more information go to: Santa Barbara South Coast Firefighter Foundation