Residents in the Lehighton area are asked to be on the lookout for fraudulent letters looking for fire company funds and volunteers.

The Lehighton Fire Department posted a warning on its Facebook page about a letter from Volunteer Firefighter Alliance that has been mailed to the borough and surrounding areas.

“The Lehighton Fire Department, Franklin Township Fire Company and Mahoning Valley Fire Company do not have any affiliation with the group sending these donation requests. Anyone with questions about whether fundraisers/donations are legit are urged to contact the Lehighton Fire Department at 610-377-2449.

The Towamensing Fire Department also warned residents at Thursday’s monthly supervisors meeting.

The letter from Topeka, Kansas, begins, “Your name has been selected as someone who might agree to volunteer at one of the local volunteer fire departments in the Lehighton area.

As a volunteer, you would not be required to fight fires, but could assist your local department by answering the phone, helping with fundraising, bookkeeping, or paperwork, doing facilities maintenance, or a variety of other jobs. Serving as a volunteer is a great way to meet new friends, be a part of a team, and is a valuable service to your community.”

Lehighton Fire Department Chief Patrick Mriss wanted to differentiate between the fake letter and the mail-in fundraiser the fire department sends out in early spring. The true Lehighton letter lists the correct address of 132 S. Third St.

“The return address (on the fake letter) is out of state. The phone numbers are all out of state. It just says Lehighton area, doesn’t provide any detailed information,” Mriss said. “The one we caught wind of yesterday was sent to a resident in Franklin Township. I haven’t had any reports yet that anyone in the borough has received this.”

The letter asks for donations: “Now I know productive members of the community such as yourself have busy schedules that might not leave time for volunteer activity. So if you’re not able to serve as a volunteer — please — help by sending us your donation for $10, $15, or even $25, $50 or more so we can continue our national recruitment effort.

“Your volunteer work OR your donation for $10 or more is urgently needed and will be deeply appreciated.”

The letter is signed Sincerely, Alan Bohms, Executive Director.

The footer of the letter lists the organization’s address, a post office box in Topeka, Kansas. According to its website, the Volunteer Firefighter Alliance Inc. is a national organization and is not affiliated with any local Volunteer Fire Department. The website says it has free fire prevention materials and is supported by businesses such as Home Depot and Walmart.

The Times News attempted to call the organization and reached a recording.

Similar warnings have been issued by fire departments throughout the country.

Mriss said, “It sounds like this is a statewide or regional issue going on. No one’s been able to make contact with this company.

“Any time anyone has any questions, they can gladly call the station or the borough,” he said.