A TEAM of fire fighters from Gwent will travel 1,400 miles to Serbia on Friday to donate fire equipment to Serbian fire stations.

The Blazing to Serbia campaign is run by personnel from South Wales Fire and Rescue. This year the 27-strong team are driving to Serbia in six fire engines, to donate the trucks and other fire equipment to fire stations in Serbia. All donated money goes towards getting the equipment to Serbia, and members pay for themselves.

Steve Logan trains young fire fighters at Malpas Fire Station every week, and is the station commander for Caerphilly Fire Station. He has been to Serbia to donate equipment for the past 11 years.

Mr Logan said: "When fire equipment in Britain is considered outdated, it is either auctioned or scrapped. But the equipment we get rid of is still in far better condition than the equipment they are using. Some of the trucks they had were more than 40 years old."

He said: "It became clear there was a lot we could do. It’s an ethically and environmentally friendly alternative to scrapping perfectly good equipment."

This year the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ivica Dačić, will meet them at the handing over ceremony in Ruma.

Mr Logan said: "It's amazing. As a fire fighter it’s pretty daunting to be meeting those sort of people, but it shows how much they appreciate what we are doing."

Each of the six fire engines will guzzle around £1,100 of diesel on the 1400-mile trip.

To donate, visit www.blazingtoserbia.co.uk

 

This year, Blazing to Serbia is donating:

  • Six fire engines
  • 200 sets of breathing equipment
  • 300 full sets of fire suits, with helmets
  • Hydraulic equipment for cutting cars