The volunteer fire department in Orange is asking for the public's help because it says it can no longer send raffle tickets for its carnival by mail. 

The department says the postal service notified them about not being allowed to send raffle tickets in the mail, and as a result, fundraising efforts have taken about a 25 percent hit.

A representative for the U.S. Postal Service told News 12 Connecticut that the department was never permitted to solicit for the raffle by mail, and it only found out what had been going on after a resident in Orange notified a postal carrier.

The department says it has been sending raffle tickets through the mail for the past 10 years, and now residents must go to specific locations to buy them, which is not garnering as much interest.

The department says it relies on funding from the carnival and the tickets to pay for things like equipment because they are strictly volunteer.

A representative with USPS says it's unlikely that the fire department will be fined because of what happened.

The carnival kicked off Thursday evening at the fairgrounds on Orange Center Road, and will run through Sunday.