West Yorkshire Fire Service has pledged four fire engines to Ukraine to support firefighting efforts amid ongoing devastation from the Russian invasion. The decision was approved during a West Yorkshire Fire Authority meeting on Thursday, where councilors also agreed to donate two additional engines to UK charities supporting veterans.
West Yorkshire supports Ukraine’s emergency response
It’s apparent from the report shared at the meeting that the war that started in February 2022 has placed unprecedented pressure on Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. During the conflict, 396 fire stations were destroyed along with 1,676 emergency vehicles.
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Also 91 firefighters died while 349 were injured. The scale of destruction is met by the scope of response; Ukrainian emergency teams have dealt with the damage to about 217,000 buildings and the rescue of 5,000 from fires and collapsed buildings.
The West Yorkshire Fire Service is donating as the service is replacing some of its older vehicles. While some will be kept for training purposes, others will be auctioned off.
Although initially planning to donate six engines, only four will be sent come early April due to logistical constraints. The other two might be donated later on.
Two other fire engines will be donated to UK charities South East Fire and Rescue, a voluntary service made up of ex-servicemen and women and other civilians, and the Brookland’s Museum Volunteer Fire Service.
Balancing costs and humanitarian efforts
West Yorkshire Fire Service is set to incur a loss of £65,000 due to not being able to auction the vehicles. This sum will be lost in loan auction revenue but Gleyn Richardson who heads transport at West Yorkshire Fire Service, supported the donation of the vehicles instead.
“While it is true that we may have modest reductions in income, the impacts that these vehicles will have on communities in Ukraine will greatly outweigh revenue losses,” he said.
While Councilor Cahal Burke boarded the issue of taxpayer burdens with increased international aid, Chief Fire Officer John Roberts assured the council that West Yorkshire has aided multiple nations in the past, including Ghana and Montenegro.
The donation is a sincere effort to support international fire relief campaigns and provide aid and important resources to the nations suffering the most.