IN BRIEF

--Greg Risling

Costa Mesa firefighter Darren De Fluiter better bring a pillow with

him considering where he is headed this weekend.

De Fluiter will spend 32 hours sitting in a snorkel basket used on

fire engines. Along with an Anaheim firefighter, he will be hoisted 25

feet in the air to raise money for burn victims.

The fund-raiser will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Orange County

Fairgrounds and last well into the next day.

The two firefighters won’t come down from their perch. Their meals

will be hoisted to them and they will have to sleep in the cramped space.

But they say knowing that burn victims will benefit from their volunteer

work is rewarding enough.

Money raised from the event will go directly to the Orange County Burn

Assn., which has special camps for children who survive burns and for

educational prevention programs.

The firefighters won’t be raised as high as the snorkel unit goes,

which is 85 feet. The apparatus will be kept at a lower level so people

can talk with them.

The two men will get 10-minute breaks for every three hours they sit

in the snorkel basket. They also will be allowed to go to the bathroom

when needed.

For more information, call (714) 456-8938.