FIRE AID members SERA and Blythswood Care continue their partnership in Moldova

This month firefighters and emergency professionals from Scotland delivered five fire engines alongside a wide range of essential firefighting equipment to Moldova.

This consignment of much needed international aid is the latest delivery by a partnership between Blythswood Care and the Scottish Emergency Rescue Association (both FIRE AID members), which has resulted in emergency vehicles being delivered to Romania, Serbia, Moldova and Burundi since 2007.

Gary Bennett, who leads the team of experienced volunteers, including mechanics and paramedics as well as experienced firefighters said: “During this trip we trained 40 firefighters, reached over 800 pupils in schools and colleges with a road and fire safety education programme, and distributed over 600 smoke and heat detectors.”

“The first time Blythswood took three fire engines to Serbia in 2007 we thought it was a one-off project,” Gary said. “But since then we have delivered 55 fire engines and ambulances and have trained over 500 firefighters. We estimate that over 3,000 lives have been saved as a result.”

Blythswood’s head of projects Finlay Mackenzie said: “Here in Scotland we take for granted the security we have in emergency cover.  By sharing their time and expertise, Gary and his team of volunteers have extended that security to hundreds of thousands of people in Eastern Europe.”