HARTVILLE, Ohio — Fundraising has become a routine part of the job at most fire departments.

In Hartville, they are constantly looking at ways to upgrade aging equipment without asking for more taxpayer money.

"Just like every place, there’s not enough money," Chief Mike Lorentz said. "All the equipment we’ve used has doubled or tripled in cost."

So it's become a bit frustrating for the department: seeing several unclaimed funds addressed to the Hartville Fire Department listed in the state's unclaimed funds database, which they have been unsuccessfully able to claim.

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Several years ago, the department made an effort to try to claim that money, which amounts to about $322, but was unsuccessful after dealing with layers and layers of verification.

While only a couple hundred dol

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