ESSEX County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) is set to donate a fire engine as part of the largest UK fire and rescue service convoy to support firefighters in Ukraine.
Three ECFRS colleagues are forming part of the convoy which will leave in April.
Coordinated by FIRE AID, and partners, the convoy is set to deliver vital firefighting equipment to Ukrainian firefighters, helping to replace crucial resources lost during the ongoing war.
The war in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on Ukrainian firefighters. Latest figures* from the State Emergency Services of Ukraine show that since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, 100 firefighters have been killed and a further 431 injured, whilst four are currently in captivity and one is missing. Meanwhile, 411 firehouses and 1,700 fire vehicles have been destroyed, and 95 firehouses are now in occupied territories. Despite these challenges, Ukrainian firefighters continue to operate in the war zone – not to engage in combat, but to save lives and protect property, often at great personal risk.
Scott Meekings, National Resilience SPOC and Group Manager for the North East Command and Urban Search and Rescue Team said: “We’ve had an overwhelming response from our firefighters in volunteering their support for this crucial campaign.
“It takes a brave person to step forward and offer themselves up for a mission of this nature. It has made me feel immensely proud knowing that we have our whole workforce striving to make people’s lives that little bit safer on a global level, as we do every day with our local communities in Essex.”
In response, UK fire and rescue services (FRSs), in partnership with the UK Government, National Resilience, International Search and Rescue, FIRE AID, National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), and the Fire Industry Association (FIA), have come together to support their Ukrainian counterparts.
English and Welsh FRSs have donated all the appliances and kit for the eighth convoy, which ranges from basic firefighting equipment such as hoses, PPE and road traffic collision equipment.
