Firefighters Camp Out 95 Feet High to Help Raise Funds for Burn Assn.

Living 95 feet in the air, jammed into a 3-by-5-foot space and shouting to passers-by through a bullhorn for the past four days wasn’t the way firefighting engineer David Vallez expected to spend the holiday season.

But when he heard about the Orange County Burn Assn.’s fund-raising plan, he said the idea was too novel to pass up.

So since early Wednesday morning, Vallez, a part-time volunteer from a Costa Mesa station, and Joe Cucinotti from the Fountain Valley station have been “snorkel sitting.” That means they have been living together atop the ladder of a fire truck that is specially equipped with a basket that--under normal circumstances--is used by firefighters to stand and position the hose nozzle so that they can continuously douse a fire. The basket is called a snorkel because of the way the hoses fit into it.

From high in the sky, the pair called out to shoppers passing through the entrance of the Orange County Fairgrounds and Event Center, asking them to contribute a little bit of their holiday funds to the nonprofit burn center.

And when the couple finally came down on Saturday--to a reception of champagne in their faces, hugs from loved ones and handshakes and pins from the chief of the Fullerton Fire Department--they simply said they were pleased to have done their share to help the association.

“We’re just so happy with how well it went,” said Cucinotti, wiping champagne from his tired and dirty face. “We think the people in Orange County are winners. We harassed them, and they were good sports about it.”

By Friday night, $12,000 of the $50,000 goal had been reached. But Fullerton Chief Ron Coleman estimated that on Saturday alone, the two men and the volunteers stationed beneath their towering crane collected an estimated $10,000 as the stream of cars packed the exits of the marketplace.

Coleman said that raising money from the basket of a fire engine is believed to be the first event of its kind in the United States. He initiated the idea after seeing it done by firefighters in England.

“I said, ‘Hey, if they could do it in Britain, so could we,’ ” he said. Not only have the firefighters raised funds, he said, but they have also informed hundreds of people of the tragedy that burn victims suffer and the need for the burn association’s work. “It’s opened up a lot of communication for us.”

As the pair made their last-minute pleas for donations from atop their perch late Saturday afternoon, most people dropping funds in the blue firefighters’ hats below said they were wooed by Vallez and Cucinotti’s persuasive approach.

“I know it’s a good cause, and I know these guys are working real hard,” said Maggie Thaxton of La Mirada, after making her contribution. “They’re doing it of their own accord.”

And a few said they understood the trauma of burn victims and wanted to offer some help.

“The last thing you ever want to be is a burn victim,” said Wendy Bedard of Newport Beach. “Disfigurement is one of the most difficult problems to deal with--plus the pain.”

The extra support from shoppers was noticed high in the basket.

“I think we’re doing much better today than we have the other three days,” said Vallez, speaking with a hoarse voice from a telephone rigged inside his tiny temporary home earlier Saturday. “People are really in the spirit. It’s really great.”

As for his partner, this was not Cucinotti’s first effort for the burn association. He is featured in the firefighters’ 1990 calendar, which was made especially for the burn association and was handed out in exchange for a $5 donation.

Cucinotti said that despite the tight quarters in the basket, the days have passed quickly because he and Vallez spent much of their time trying to attract the attention of bustling shoppers. “We’ve got the bullhorn up here, and we’re just talking to everybody who comes by,” he said.

Even though the couple have been tireless in their quest for donations from the shoppers below, Vallez jokingly said he understands why some people may be ignoring them.

“We look bad and we smell bad,” he said. “Four days up here without a shower--that’s something not even a mother would love.”