How much would you pay for a basket of firefighter goodies? This year, for the fourteenth year in a row, each of Portland's 30 fire stations will be putting together a basket of fire station items to be put up for auction at the annual dinner and auction to benefit the Trauma Intervention Program, or TIP, of Portland, Vancouver and SW Washington.

The fire station who provides the basket that gets the highest bid will be winning a dinner for their company cooked, cleaned and served by the Chief’s Association.

Last year, about 23 fire stations participated with baskets that offered everything from manual labor (6 hours of yard work, painting someone’s house, etc.) to a night on the town that included dinner at a station, a ride to a Blazer’s game, and ice cream following the game. Station 14 took home the prize with a basket that went for $1,500.  

Heroes with a Heart Annual Dinner and Auction is a fundraiser put on every year by TIP NW, which brings together community members and TIP volunteers in a dinner, silent auction, and live auction. Trauma Intervention Program is an organization made up of extensively trained citizen volunteers who provide emotional support and to victims and their families in the first hours that follow a tragedy. They are called to the scene by Police and Fire emergency responders.

TIP volunteers are available to emergency responders 365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. In 2010 they received 1,925 calls, served 11,910 clients and spent 6,948 hours with their clients. More information about their program is available at their website www.tipnw.org. PF&R is incredibly appreciative of all of the work that they do, and encourages anyone who can to donate time or money to this important organization.

This year’s dinner will be on November 3, 2011.

 Portland Fire & Rescue

 We Respond: Always Ready, Always There

 August 18, 2011

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