BREWER – Members of two statewide firefighter organizations and a Bangor-based consumer advocacy group are among those urging Mainers to think twice before donating to the Maine Volunteer Firefighters Fund.

While the effort does not appear to be breaking any laws in Maine, the bulk of the fund-raiser’s proceeds appear to be headed for telemarketers based in Sea Bright, N.J., according to John Supranovich of Northeast COMBAT.

During a lengthy telephone conversation Thursday with the charity’s executive director, E.E. Senn of Bradenton, Fla., Supranovich learned that the telemarketing firm with which the charity reportedly has been contracting for the past two years is taking 80 percent of the proceeds for administrative costs this year. That means that for every $1 donated, only 20 cents makes its way into the fund.

Though not a crime, Supranovich said, that is an “excessive” percentage by most standards.

“That’s unbelievable,” Bangor Fire Chief Jeff Cammack said when he learned how much of the proceeds were destined for administrative costs.

By way of comparison, the American Red Cross spends less than 10 percent of its fund-raiser proceeds on administration and the United Way of America, 8 percent, according to statistics listed on www.give.org, the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance Web site, one of several Internet resources aimed at helping donors make informed decisions.

Members of Maine’s firefighting community are concerned about the charity and the timing of its launch in Maine, a little more than a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the resulting outpouring of support for the hundreds of New York City firefighters who perished in the line of duty.

In a statement issued this week, Maine Fire Chiefs Association President Roy Woods of Caribou urged the state’s fire departments not to support the fund until more is known about it.

“We have contacted [Senn] and asked numerous questions regarding this fund and the idea of statewide fund raising,” Woods noted. “To say the least, the responses we received were very vague and misleading. To our knowledge, neither the Maine Fire Chiefs Association nor the Maine Federation of Firefighters were contacted before this letter was sent out.”

Woods’ statement was issued in response to letters from Senn to Maine fire chiefs, inviting their support for the fund, along with a mission statement that claims the charity was created to provide financial and scholarship assistance of the dependents and immediate family members of Maine volunteer firefighters suffering hardships resulting from the death or incapacitation of a firefighter, family member or other family tragedy.

Brewer Fire Chief Richard Bronson said he immediately became suspicious after seeing the charity was based out of state and contacted Supranovich in an effort to determine whether the fund is legitimate.

Cammack said that a staff member in Senn’s Florida offices declined his request for additional information about the fund for Maine volunteer firefighters, which aroused his suspicions.

“Do not contribute to this group,” Cammack said Friday. “Our concern is that people in Maine are being taken advantage of [in the aftermath] of the September 11 attacks.”

Senn could not be reached for comment Friday because he reportedly was out of town on business. However, in his letter to fire officials and fund-raiser announcements sent to the Maine media, Senn says he is a retired firefighter, state police lieutenant and police chief working to raise funds on behalf of firefighters in Maine and other states.

Brewer City Manager Stephen Bost, who received a telephone call at his home Sunday night from a telemarketer working on behalf of the fund, said that he was hung up on after telling the caller he had already contributed to other charities benefiting the Sept. 11 victims.