Ill. FD donates fire engine to Ukraine
"It has taken many people doing paperwork, asking for favors, politicking and risking their lives to get it there," the Chillicothe district said
By Leila Merrill
FireRescue1
CHILLICOTHE, Ill. — A donated apparatus from Illinois is making a difference in Ukraine and recently made it onto an episode of the NBC Nightly News.
The Chillicothe Community Fire Protection District began the process of donating Engine 1 to the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America in the autumn, and the engine arrived in January.
The fire department announced the arrival in January.
“Us donating the Engine was the easy part. It has taken many people doing paperwork, asking for favors, politicking and risking their lives to get it there. It has been trucked, flown, boated, and driven to get to where it is today. Thank you to all of them for making sure this great Engine was put into the hands of great people that will use it to save lives and do good things,” the department posted on Facebook on Jan. 24.
Chillicothe Fire Chief Marvin Roderick told NBC that he was inspired by Chris Manson, who has been sending ambulances loaded with supplies.
A rural city of 6,000 people in Illinois decided to donate one of their fire engines to Ukraine.
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) February 4, 2023
It arrived last week in Mykolaiv, making it the first American fire engine in the war-torn country.@Maggie_Vespa shares more about the engine’s journey: https://t.co/RKmQwWZFE7