The Gatlinburg Firefighters Association has established the Gatlinburg Public Safety Employees Wildfire Relief Fund to aid those Gatlinburg Firefighters and Police Officers who lost their homes and contents in the fire, which in part spread from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park into the eastern Tennessee resort city of Gatlinburg. The fire spread over 17,000 […]

The Gatlinburg Firefighters Association has established the Gatlinburg Public Safety Employees Wildfire Relief Fund to aid those Gatlinburg Firefighters and Police Officers who lost their homes and contents in the fire, which in part spread from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park into the eastern Tennessee resort city of Gatlinburg. The fire spread over 17,000 acres, burning about 1,750 structures in Sevier County, including hundreds in Gatlinburg, killed 14 people and injured about 145 people. Due to disabled communication services, citizens never got mobile emergency warnings and were only alerted through the Gatlinburg siren alert system and officers making door-to-door notifications the next morning. Firefighters, officers, and volunteers have worked 12-hour shifts to battle the Gatlinburg tragedy.

Donations should be directed to:  The Gatlinburg Public Safety Employees Wildfire Relief Fund, Account # 1090021864. Donations may be mailed to Smartbank, ATTN: Gatlinburg Public Safety Employees Wildfire Relief Fund, PO Box 1910, Pigeon Forge Tennessee 37868. Electronic transfers may be sent to Smartbank. The routing number for this fund is 064209216. 

For additional information contact: Kandra McCarter (865) 936-7130; Daniel Lindbert (865) 430-8687 or David Puckett (865) 712-0726.

Donations Also Needed to Help the Pittman Center Volunteer Fire Department

Many of you may also remember Chief (Ret) Johnny Crawley, who served as Chief of Thomson Fire Department as well as GSFA President. Johnny has since moved to the Gatlinburg area where he lives in the Cobbly Nob community and now serves with the Pittman Center Volunteer Fire Department. His department responded to help Gatlinburg with mutual aid assistance with the massive wildfires on Nov. 28 when they were recalled for a fire in their own district. The fire in their area destroyed 108 homes and damaged 26. Seventeen volunteer firefighters managed to save more than 200 homes and condominiums in the area.  The fire did however, destroy their repeater and communications equipment. The estimated cost to replace it is $25,000. 

Most of the donations requested to date are being directed to the larger departments in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. In an effort to help our brother from Georgia and his small volunteer fire department recover, you may also want to consider making a donation to assist their department.  You may direct these donations to:

Pittman Center Community Volunteer Fire Department

Fire Equipment Relief Fund
ATTN: Chief Rosemary Nichols
PO Box 652
Gatlinburg, TN 37738