Chicago firefighter raises Flint water crisis fundraising goal

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago firefighter is upping his effort to help Flint, Mich., with its water crisis.

Eric Washington started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $15,000 by Friday to buy bottled water.

He has already exceeded that goal and is now aiming to raise $20,000.

Washington says on his fundraising page that the people behind GoFundMe are offering an additional $10,000 to whoever raises the most money for Flint by the end of the week.

Flint switched from Detroit's municipal water system while under emergency state financial management and began drawing from the Flint River in 2014 to save money, but the water was not properly treated. Residents have been urged to use bottled water and to put filters on faucets.

A number of global companies have also pledged bottled water for Flint, including Walmart, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.