The Connecticut community continues to come together in support of Ukraine. We brought you a story over the weekend about how the South Fire District in Middletown held a drive collecting fire equipment and medical supplies.
On Friday, those items were being prepped for shipments. More than 300 boxes and 12,000 pounds of equipment and supplies were delivered to Ukrainian moving company Meest in New Jersey as they prepare the shipments to head abroad.
"It was very fulfilling to see this go from cradle to grave," said Fire Chief Jim Trzaski of the South District Fire Department.
"All the people at Meest are from Ukraine and they were so happy to see this shipment down there knowing it’s not only going for just humanitarian needs but actually to the first responders," he continued.
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But as the war in Ukraine rages on with no sign of the end in sight – the conditions of what it’s like to face the unknown are described:
"From day to day, the territory of Ukraine is bombing by Russians and we have a lot of fires in a cities in a forest and fields. And they're working 24 hours and it's not a typical situation," Trzaski said.
With the constant battle of the blaze, Michael Radigan, who works with Ukrainian Catholic University but functions as an English liaison for the Lviv Oblast Fire Agency, paints the picture of just how in need the Ukrainian community really is of the equipment and medical supplies.
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"Just imagine working in a primary critical aid unit and you don't have any medicine or that you've been in a firefighter brigade and you're also picking up rubble, your equipment's getting damaged while you're working, and you don't have any equipment to go back to," said Radigan.
The items are set to reach Ukraine in the next several weeks.
