Fund-raisers have made donations to fire stations in New York City to refurbish ready rooms where firefighters relax and spend time between calls.

Organizer Fran Moss, in partnership with the FDNY, told the New York Post that she was shocked at the state of the rooms. "It didn't have insulated walls. It was dank and battleship gray," she said at an unveiling ceremony of the new living space at Engine 47, on West 113th Street, the first to be completed. "The floors were concrete with a drain in the middle. There were tattered couches and a small, old TV."

Thanks to fund-raising efforts in collaboration with FDNY and Engine 47's members, the refurbished room now has wood floors, an electric fireplace, tin ceilings, an exposed brick wall, huge flat-screen plasma TV and four comfortable couches to watch it from. Renovations cost $5,000.

"These men give so much to us every day," Moss told the paper. "My idea was to do what we could to improve the quality of their lives."

Other renovations are being carried out at Ladder 3 in the East Village, Engine 54 in Hell's Kitchen and Engine 24 in TriBeCa. Moss and the FDNY hope to expand the program to include other firehouse across the city. Donors to theses efforts include the Anthony E. Meyer Foundation, Sony, Home Depot and BoConcept Furniture gave materials and furnishings. The firefighters carry out the work on the rooms themselves.

"This is extraordinary," said FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta at the ready room unveiling. "A lot of houses could do with a little sprucing up, and this one will become the envy of other houses. It's quite splendid from top to bottom."

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