NATCHEZ — One look at the furniture at Natchez Fire Department fire stations, and evidence of why a local business has made a mission out of refurnishing the stations is easy to see.

The club chairs and recliners at the fire stations have ripped and worn leather, exposed stuffing, missing cushions and other deterioration.

“They are in deplorable condition,” Fire Chief Aaron Wesley said.

The furniture in the station is approximately 15 years old, but the fire department does not have money in its budget to replace it, Wesley said.

Darby and Dennis Short, owners of Darby’s and Darby’s Furniture, are collecting gently used furniture for the fire department and fundraising money to buy new chairs.

The Shorts also recently helped raise money to purchase new thermal imaging cameras for the department following a fire at Darby’s in November 2014.

Wesley said the Shorts have basically “adopted” the fire department as a personal cause.

“They really have,” Wesley said. “I feel like we’ve been adopted by them, and you really can’t ask for anything better than citizens trying to help you out.”

Darby Short said she never intended to take on the firefighters as essentially her “godchildren,” but said she felt it necessary to help improve the working conditions of the firefighters.

“The mayor came to me with these pitiful pictures of the chairs, and I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re spending 24-hour shifts in this place, and they’re eating on folding tables and chairs they’ve brought from home,” she said. “It’s deplorable that they live their work life in those conditions, and they do it for not a whole lot of money. The least we can do is try to give them better working conditions.”

Mayor Darryl Grennell said he approached the Shorts about helping refurnish the fire stations in hopes that they could help fill a need the city’s budget cannot at the moment.

“I just think it’s a great gesture from the citizens to say, ‘These people are putting their lives on the line for us, and this is a small thing we can do for them,’” Grennell said.

Anyone wishing to donate gently used leather club chairs, ottomans or recliners can contact the Shorts at Darby’s by calling 601-446-9737. The Shorts request calling instead of dropping furniture off at the fire stations so arrangements for pick up and delivery can be made.

Those who want to donate to the efforts to purchase new furniture can drop off a check at Darby’s at 410 Main St.

Checks need to be made out to the City of Natchez with a memo line designating the money for fire station furniture. Donations are tax deductible.