SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A group of California women aged from 51 to 84 posed for a racy calendar to raise money for their local firehouse, but the town turned down the cash as too hot to handle.
The women raised $30,000 to help fix up Carmel-by-the-Sea's firehouse because the upscale town was short of funds, calendar organizer Patty Ross said on Friday.
"I learned we were $2.2 million in debt and thought it would be a fun idea," said Ross.
She said she had obtained permission from the mayor to use the firehouse and its equipment as props for the "Carmel Fire Belles" calendar, which features some partially nude shots.
"One of them is a school teacher, one is a business owner," said Ross, who is Miss November. "We're just hard-working members of the community who thought we were doing a nice thing."
Carmel's mayor was not immediately available for comment, but City Attorney Don Freeman said town officials decided that taking the group's money would open the town to potential lawsuits.
"It would open us up to workplace causes of action such as sexual harassment and hostile environment and things of that nature," Freeman said. "This is the kind of thing that just can't be done in the workplace ... It runs the risk of offending people."
With its white sand beach, Carmel has long been a favorite vacation spot for California's rich and famous. Many also keep homes there, and actor and director Clint Eastwood once served as the town's mayor.
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