Students collect 44,020 dimes in honor of injured Fresno fire captain

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Community support continues to pour in for Pete Dern -- the Fresno fire captain severely injured when he fell through the roof of a burning home several weeks ago.

On Friday, a group of fourth, fifth and sixth graders from Maple Creek Elementary in Clovis delivered a check to the burn center at Community Regional Medical Center. It's the result of "Dimes for Dern" -- a fundraiser put on by the students and named in honor of Captain Dern.

Their goal was 10,000 dimes, but they did much more. They raised 44,020 dimes, or $4,402.

The kids got a tour of the burn center and also gave out handmade get-well cards to Captain Dern and other burn survivors.