The Vancouver Fire Department is holding its seventh annual coat drive now through Jan. 1.
Coats and blankets can be dropped off at the Westside fire station, 400 E. 37th St., daily between 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Capt. Duane Schuman said in a news release the department is looking for “clean, usable coats in all sizes.” Children’s coats, he said, are in high-demand.
“Anybody who can help us out by donating a coat or blanket can bring it by the station,” Schuman said.
Last year, the fire department collected more than 3,000 coats. That’s up from 700 in 2004, the first year of the effort. Leftover coats and blankets will be delivered to local shelters, schools and the YWCA in January.
The Westside firehouse serves the Rose Village, Shumway, Carter Park, Lincoln, West Minnehaha and Northwest neighborhoods.
