LAKELAND, Fla. (WTSP) -- The firefighters at the Lakeland Fire Department are showing some skin to show their support for a good cause.
The firefighters can be seen posing at several Lakeland landmarks, in many cases shirtless, in a new calendar to raise money for SPCA Florida.
“We don't regularly take clothes off when we go on calls,” firefighter Jay Rivera said. “We're more so putting them on.”
Rivera and Anthony Lobascio share the March page together. Posing shirtless is a little bit out of their comfort zones, so to get ready, they watched what they ate and hit the gym inside the station.
“I had about a month prep time to really get in there and put on as much muscle as I could,” Lobascio said.
All of the dogs in the calendar are rescues from SPCA Florida.
“Sales thus far for the first two weeks have been pretty brisk,” said Adam Stanfield, SPCA Florida’s executive director.
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SPCA Florida will use the money for its own operating costs, but they'll also donate equipment like pet oxygen masks to the department.
“I know my dog is like my family to me, so knowing that we can do whatever we can to help them and return them to their family again, that's definitely a good thing in my book,” Lobascio said.
Whether they’re suiting up or taking it off, you can count on these firefighters to answer the call.
The calendars cost $10. Last year, they raised more than $9,000.
