Wednesday 8 April 2009
11.15 hrs
Six fire engines no longer used by Avon Fire & Rescue
Service are being donated to The Gambia, as part of the service’s
long running charity Gambia and Avon Fire Services in Partnership
(GAFSIP).
On Wednesday 8 April The Gambian High Commissioner, Elizabeth Ya
Eli Harding, visited Avon Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters
for the official handover of the vehicles.
Although a wide selection of equipment has been sent to The
Gambia in recent years, the last time Avon Fire & Rescue
Service donated fire engines to the African country was back in
2004.
The money raised to ship the vehicles to The Gambia has been
raised by the charity GAFSIP and a donation from the Thornbury
Lions Club.
Chair of Avon Fire Authority Councillor Terry Walker, Chief Fire
Officer / Chief Executive Kevin Pearson, Avon Fire & Rescue
Service staff, members of Thornbury Lions and supporters of GAFSIP
joined the High Commissioner for the handover.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer / Chief
Executive Kevin Pearson said: “We are delighted to be handing these
appliances over to the Gambia Fire & Rescue Service. Each
vehicle will be driven to Southampton and loaded into a container
and shipped to The Gambia.
“Avon Fire & Rescue Service has made a real difference to
the lives of people who live in and visit The Gambia, with the
creation of a fire and rescue service. To date 40 fire appliances,
breathing apparatus sets, seven ambulances, a rescue tender and
lots of equipment for schools and hospitals have been donated to
the African country.
“Without this equipment and training there would be no fire and
rescue service in The Gambia, which would ultimately put more lives
at risk.”
The charity GAFSIP began in 1991 when Dave Hutchings, a former
Chief Fire Officer at Avon Fire & Rescue Service, was on
holiday in The Gambia. He witnessed a road traffic collision in
which two adults and four children died, because of a lack of
rescue equipment available.
When he returned home he decided to try and make a difference by
raising money to pay for equipment no longer being used in Avon to
be shipped to The Gambia.
Since the project began The Gambian Government has built 12 new
fire stations, with each division of the country now having its own
fire and rescue service cover from the capital Banjul to Basse, the
largest populated area. This has led to the creation of around 800
jobs.
Ends