The Preston Legion has run into a bit of an issue with its outdated fire suppression system and has turned to the community to help raise money for the fix.
A local veteran has taken it upon himself to set up a fundraiser on crowd-sourcing site "Give Send Go," for the local legion branch in hopes of rasing $25,000. So far they have only raised $50 of their large goal.
"Preston Legion is on the verge of being shut down, because the city requires them to upgrade their fire sprinkler system," wrote Slobodan Gajic. "They need $20,000-$25,000 to get this done. Any help for our veterans would be appreciated."
Chief fire prevention officer for the Cambridge Fire Department, Eric Yates, said the situation has not been accurately presented in the media or on the fundraising site and said CFD would only shut down the legion if there is an immediate threat to public safety or if the property owners refuse to comply with a plan to get the unit back up to code.
"We are working with the legion to make sure that they have a plan put in place to get everything fixed, but we're definitely not out there just to shut them down or close their doors," Yates said.
CFD will work with businesses or property owners to make sure there is a realistic plan set up to make the repairs and in a time frame that works for both parties.
Yates said they have met with the Preston Legion, have already seen legion members taking the steps to remedy some of the issues they were facing and they are in no immediate danger of being closed.
Joe Gowing, vice-president of the Preston Legion Branch 126, did not respond to requests for comments.