Two fire engines are being donated by the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue (SJFRS) to help firefighters in Ukraine deal with the impacts of the Russian invasion.
The two engines will be driven to Poland by six firefighters from Jersey. Their journey will see them leaving Jersey on Monday, 18th April, initially heading to Kent before then continuing onwards to Poland.
They are part of a team of volunteers from across the UK taking vehicles including fire engines and lorries full of lifesaving equipment. Additionally, Jersey Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Service, part of Ports of Jersey, are also donating a number of items including protective clothing and medical supplies.
Condor have kindly covered the cost of the ferry crossing to Portsmouth.
It came after the UK Home Office and National Fire Chiefs Council, working in partnership with the charity Fire Aid requested that any equipment and vehicles that were due to be replaced, decommissioned, or disposed of, be donated to Ukrainian firefighters.
Firefighter Richard Wilson, who initiated the request for SJFRS to support Ukraine said: “We’ve recently invested in new fire appliances for SJFRS, so I approached the senior leadership team to see if the two older appliances might be available for donation to Fire Aid, the charity organising help for Ukrainian firefighters.
“It was quickly agreed that we could donate the vehicles, and work started to get them ready for the journey to Poland, where they will be handed over to authorities who will arrange the onward deployment into Ukraine.”
Chief Fire Officer, Paul Brown said: “The commitment and offers of support from our firefighters to assist in this initiative has been outstanding and we are pleased to do anything we can to help Ukraine’s firefighters during this very difficult time.
“I’m proud that SJFRS has donated two fire engines and a considerable amount of end-of-life equipment, with six of our firefighters driving over to Europe to deliver it.”
The Firefighters, who have all volunteered their time are Luke Burton, Matt Coote, John Richardson, Richard Wilson, Brian Brown, and Graham Stokes.
