Dearborn Police, Firefighters Join Edsel Ford Staff in Wheelchair Basketball Tourney

Edsel Ford High School students and staff, along with police officers and firefighters from the city of Dearborn, will battle for bragging rights in a friendly wheelchair basketball tournament on Tuesday.

Tip-off begins at 7 p.m., when the police and firefighters will play against teachers from Edsel Ford and The Michigan Thunderbirds, a professional wheelchair team.

"It's always a good time," firefighter Jeff Powelll said. "We raise anywhere from $500 to $800 for wheelchair athletes in Michigan."

Powell said originally the game served as a fundraiser for the Dearborn Firefighters Burn Drive, but in recent years, players invited athletes paralyzed from the waste down to participate in the tournament.

Tickets for the tournament are $4 and are available at the door. All of the money is donated to help purchase wheelchairs and send athletes with disabilities to camps in Michigan.

For more information, visit http://dearbornschools.org/efhs.