By FireRescue1 Staff
ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando firefighters are no longer allowed to raise money on the streets for muscular dystrophy due to a new city ordinance.
News965 reported that city commissions passed a panhandling ordinance that prohibits getting money from vehicles on the roadways.
Orlando firefighters have been raising money on the streets for 60 years. An estimated $740,000 has been raised for muscular dystrophy since 2000.
“We make our money from people dumping their extra change. It’s not so much the dollar bills, it’s the change,” Orlando Fire Union member Wayne Bernoska said.
Orlando Fire Chief Roderick Williams said in a letter to firefighters that he asked the city if firefighters could be exempt from the new law, but he was denied.
“I don’t think this is what this ordinance was set up for, but it’s going to affect mainly the kids suffering from this horrible disease,” Bernoska said.
Fundraising can still be conducted in approved parking lots and businesses.