Fairfax County firefighters and paramedics narrowly edged out their competition in Houston to top the nation in a muscular-dystrophy fundraiser, officials say, raising more than half a million dollars for the cause in four days.

The county broke through its goal of $375,000 to collect $536,026 over Labor Day weekend for the Muscular Dystrophy Association as part of the annual Fill the Boot campaign, a joint venture between the Fire and Rescue Department and its union. Fairfax also outpaced its Texas rival in the charity.

“The competition is a great thing,” said Jill Steuter, district director for the D.C.-Virginia office of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which partners with the International Association of Fire Fighters to run the charity. “Firefighters are competitive people by nature. The fact that there is competition involved in being number one in the nation is really motivating to them.”

Last year, Houston beat Fairfax. For Joel Kobersteen, a local union official who coordinated the campaign, this year’s victory elicited a certain air of triumph and a hint of gloating.

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He said several of factors came together to mark the success of the fundraiser, including good weather, public generosity, aid from communications staff and apparatus shop workers, and the agreement to let workers raise money on-duty.

All the locally raised money in the Fill the Boot campaign stays in the Greater-Washington area, Steuter said. She said the funds go to muscular dystrophy research and services, including help with wheelchairs and support groups.

wflook@dcexaminer.com