Fire dept. holds donation drive for tornado victims

WEST ALEXANDRIA, Ohio (WDTN) - West Alexandria firefighters held a donation drive on Saturday to help victims of the tornado that tore through Indiana.

Fire Chief Jeff Shafer stated his crew became involved in relief efforts after doing a little research on Henryville, the Indiana town that was hit by the F-4 tornado on March 2.

The firefighters learned that Henryville is about the same size and has close to the same population as West Alexandria. With that information, they counted their blessings and started asking for donations to take to the victims.

"It really hits home. We've been in contact with their fire chief and some of their other people in the community, and basically they have nothing. I think it makes you realize how blessed you are. And the good Lord is kind of directing us to help get this deal done because this is what we do," said Fire Chief Jeff Shafer.

The fire department will hold two more donation drop-offs at the fire station located at 25 East Dayton Street. The drives will be held Thursday March 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday March 17 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Once the last of the donations are loaded up, the chief will drive to Henryville Saturday afternoon and make his delivery.