Fire service to donate engines to Ukraine

Councillors from across West Yorkshire agreed to donate the fire engines at a meeting on Thursday

Four fire engines from West Yorkshire will be donated to Ukraine to help deal with the devastation caused by the Russian invasion.

Councillors from across West Yorkshire agreed to donate the vehicles at a meeting of West Yorkshire Fire Authority on Thursday.

A further two engines will be sent to UK charities that support veterans.

A report to members said the Ukraine State Emergency Service had been "under significant pressure since the current conflict began in February 2022".

The report said 396 fire stations and 1,676 fire vehicles had been destroyed in the war-torn country since the invasion.

Ninety-one firefighters had been killed and a further 349 injured.

"In the same period, the work of Ukrainian firefighters has grown significantly in response to the ongoing destruction of property, with approximately 217,000 buildings destroyed or damaged and 5,000 people rescued from fires and collapsed buildings," the report said.

Members of the authority were told that the service was in the process of replacing 58 of its older vehicles, with 10 of them being kept for training and others auctioned off.

But the services planned to donate some of the vehicles to help fire services in Ukraine.

The vehicles would be sent over in early April, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Two other engines will be donated to Brooklands Museum Volunteer Fire Service and South East Fire and Rescue, which is a volunteer group made up of military veterans and emergency services staff.

Originally, six engines were due to be sent to Ukraine in April, but logistics meant only four could be sent from West Yorkshire.

The remaining two will be kept in the UK, to be sent at a future date if needed.

'Good impact'

The donation is expected to cost the fire service about £65,000 in potential lost earnings from the auction of the vehicles.

Glynn Richardson, head of transport at the fire service, said: "There would be a modest reduction in income, but in this instance the good these vehicles could do and the impact on communities in Ukraine will outweigh any revenue losses for us."

Councillor Cahal Burke questioned whether similar support had been offered to other war-torn countries, and said : "We're asking our constituents to pay more tax when we're giving away vehicles that could raise £65,000."

Chief Fire Officer John Roberts said in the past the service had provided support to countries across the world, including Ghana and Montenegro.

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