Edinburgh rotary club helped buy fire truck for the city of Chernihiv in Ukraine

The city of Chernihiv in Ukraine have received a much-needed fire truck, thanks to the support of the Rotary Club of Edinburgh.

The appliance was received by the Chernihiv Fire and Rescue Service today (June 13), and was given a traditional hose-down to celebrate its arrival.

The Rotary Club of Edinburgh helped to secure the truck, after Kyrylo Pesenkov, president of the Rotary Club of Kyiv, put out a call to the worldwide Rotary community.

After the siege of Chernihiv and fierce bombing, the Chernihiv Fire and Rescue Service realised they were in need of specialist rescue apparatus which would allow them to rescue residents trapped in high rise properties.

Mr Pesenkov found a fire truck for sale, equipped with a 30-metre long extension ladder, however, he discovered it would cost $50,000 to buy, upgrade and deliver to Ukraine from Austria.

Luckily, the Edinburgh Club took action, and came up with a strategy to purchase and send the Fire Rescue Truck to Chernihiv.

The club, along with co-sponsors from two American districts, applied for grants with Rotary International, which has a Ukraine Disaster Fund to finance relief projects to support the citizens of Ukraine. Rotarians worldwide have raised more than $15 million for this fund, and grants of up to $25,000 are available to Rotary Districts who create suitable projects.

The Chernihiv Fire and Rescue Service received the much-needed fire truck on Monday.

The grants were speedily approved, setting the wheels in motion for the delivery of the Fire Truck. The vehicle was driven to Latvia, to the Polish-Ukranian border, before making the final leg of the journey to Chernihiv.