Schenectady Fire Department wins Battle of the Badges

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Schenectady Police Department and Schenectady Fire Department joined forces to raise awareness for the need for blood donations in the Battle of the Badges on Wednesday. The two agencies competed in a blood drive held with the American Red Cross from noon to 5 p.m. inside Key Hall at Proctors.

The agency with the highest volume of donated blood earned bragging rights for supporting an important cause amid a national blood shortage. The competition ran close, but the Schenectady Fire Department won with four more votes than the Police Department.

Chief Clifford of Schenectady Police will also donate to Chief Mareno of Schenectady Fire Department's charity, the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Albany Medical Center. Chief Mareno will also donate to Chief Clifford's Operation at Ease charity since there were no real losers in this competition.

The Fire Department announced that 60 units of blood were collected during the drive, doubling the goal the agencies set of 30. Almost 30% of the donors were donating for the first time.