The mission the Kilkenny Fire Service had set out on is complete as they delivered fire fighting equipment to Ukraine.
Three jeeps, a fire engine and other equipment such as generators, lighting, hydraulic rescue gear, and lifting equipment were among the equipment delivered to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service on Friday.
The convoy of vehicles was delivered by firefighters from Kilkenny Fire Service who volunteered their time.
Kilkenny’s Senior Assistant Chief Fire Officer Frank Dunne was part of the convoy which set off last Tuesday.
He told KCLR News “we had three jeeps from Kilkenny that finished their service life with us and were still perfectly functional, perfectly serviceable, and we filled those with equipment ourselves, so we had the fire engine and the three jeeps going out there. The Ukrainians picked up the fire engine at 4 o clock Friday morning. The jeeps were going into Ukraine on Friday afternoon, so they are there already. We’d arranged a pickup with the Ukrainians, but the Russians had hacked the humanitarian exit visa system the Ukrainians are using, so really it interfered with our humanitarian efforts, so there was a delay with the Ukrainians getting across. They just couldn’t get out of the country.”
Kilkenny Fire Service support their colleagues in the Ukraine by donating vital fire fighting equipment as part of an initiative of Fire Services in the South East Region.
Read full Press Release: https://t.co/M73yxGWCRd #YourCouncilDay / #DoLásaChomhairle pic.twitter.com/FWAo5YJYyb— Kilkenny County Council (@KilkennyNotices) July 1, 2022