FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP -- A man in the Mountain Top area has decided to collect firewood for folks still without power in New Jersey.
The wood is expected to be sent to hurricane victims by the weekend.
Bob Parker chopped up firewood at the Mountain Top Hose Company in Fairview Township that will eventually be sent to the New Jersey shore to help victims of Sandy.
While many folks from northeastern and central Pennsylvania donated clothes and cleaning supplies, Parker said he saw firewood on a list of needed items from a church in Ocean County New Jersey, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm.
“And I swear I felt electricity went through my body. I said firewood! We have so much firewood here in northeast Pennsylvania. It’s ridiculous,” said Parker.
Parker made a few phone calls and donations began pouring in.
“We need firewood. These people over there have no heat. They might have electricity back or might not, but their heating system is destroyed, so they’re depending on firewood to stay warm and cook on,” said Parker.
A donated tractor trailer will bring the donated firewood to the shore.
You may have heard that moving firewood can spread a tree killing beetle, but the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is allowing the transfer of the firewood from Pennsylvania.
Mike Kozich of Mountain Top heard about the donation drive and unloaded two trailers full of firewood.
“I lost power here for a couple days, for three days in Mountain Top. The house got a little chilly. A couple guys that work for me live out in Long Island, and some of them were without power for seven days, so I definitely know it can go for good use,” said Kozich.
If you want to donate your firewood, you have until Saturday morning. All you have to do is drop it off at the Mountain Top Hose Company number 1. They`re looking for dried preferably chopped wood, and Saturday afternoon it will all be shipped out to Lakewood, New Jersey.