THE fire service for Worcestershire has donated PPE and rescue equipment to help support emergency workers in Ukraine.

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service will also be donating a fire engine this week following Government approval.

The service’s donations form part of an initiative by the National Fire Chiefs Council to deliver kit and equipment in support of the Ukrainian Fire & Rescue Service's response to the emerging crisis.

Two Hereford & Worcester volunteers drove fully-packed vans to the UK collection point last Friday (March 11). The vans contained personal protection equipment (PPE), filters for respiratory protection equipment, ventilation fans, scoop stretchers and chemical protection suits.

An appliance donated by the service will form part of a convoy of 15 fire engines and two lorries of equipment being driven to Poland on March 19.

The deployment of these donations is being supported by funding from the Home Office, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and others. It is being coordinated by the UK charity Fire Aid.

Unprecedented emergency response

When it reaches Ukraine, the equipment will be used to support firefighters, emergency services and volunteers who are battling together on the front line, dealing daily with fires and other emergencies to protect lives, people and property as the invasion devastates the country.

Area commander Jon Butlin, assistant director for response at the Hereford & Worcester service, said: “This is an extremely worthy cause for the service to be supporting.

“I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered to drive the equipment to the collection point this weekend, and those that have assisted in prepping the equipment and the appliance at high speed to get it ready in time.”

Claire Hoyland, project manager for Fire Aid, said: “Following the invasion of Ukraine, our members immediately mobilised to gather equipment and aid to donate to their Ukrainian counterparts."