The firefighters who volunteered to drive the engines to Poland before they were donated to colleagues on the front line in Ukraine.
Six firefighters from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) have returned home after donating fire engines and vital equipment to firefighters in Ukraine.
The staff volunteered their time to drive two Dennis Sabre fire engines, which have been used by the Service for around 20 years, over to Poland earlier this month.
The engines were then handed over to firefighters in Ukraine, along with equipment including radios and thermal imaging cameras.
The donation from CDDFRS aims to replace resources lost in the conflict with Russia and show solidarity with Ukrainian firefighters on the front line.
The effort was part of a national convoy with 17 other UK fire and rescue services including our neighbours, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service.
It was co-ordinated by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and FIRE AID and saw a total of 30 fire and rescue vehicles, carrying more than 15,000 pieces of equipment, donated to Ukraine.
The donation was made possible by the hard work of the Service's workshops team in preparing the fire engines and a generous donation from business, Cummins, who provided a part that they needed which was worth around £5,000.
Ben Cairns, Director of Community Risk Management at CDDFRS, said: "Our Service is so proud of everyone involved.
"We would like to thank everyone who volunteered to take part in this amazing initiative to support our colleagues in Ukraine," he said.
"A special thanks to our Workshops Team, notably Steve Cairns and Paul Dodds, as without them we wouldn’t have been able to send a second vehicle.
"Thank you also to Phil Foster for sorting out the equipment and Karl Blackburn who is travelling to Luton Airport to pick up our staff in a minibus.
"I would also like to thank West Midlands FRS who donated the springs for the second fire engine and Cummins for their big donation."
