Zimbabwe Fire Fighters Burn Victims
Donation protected
Immediate help needed for friends and brothers in the fire service, who went down in the name of saving others.
I am a career fire fighter with the Town of Caledon Fire & Emergency Services and while visiting friends in Zimbabwe Africa October 2015 I spent an afternoon at the local fire station and met the crew working that day. What a wonderful group of men.
They explained how most of their trucks and equipment is second hand and sent from other countries. Even some of their station uniforms are hand me downs from a US Fire Department.
The week of October 17, 2016 they responded to a commercial property fire with reports of people trapped. What they weren't told by people on scene was that there was 30,000 litres of illegally stored Ethanol inside. As the fire spread the Ethanol became involved and it exploded, engulfing the search crew as they looked for the trapped occupants.
The fire was intense and became defensive after the Ethanol exploded. Structure fire fighting gear isn't infallible, especially when its been used and sent down second hand.
Three of the fire fighters suffered severe burns and were rushed to hospital. Two of them had to be sent to South Africa for treatment as their local city hospital didn't have the resources for their special care and treatment.
These brave men all have young families who depend on them and now have no financial income for everyday necessities, let alone health care. While talking with my friend on the crew he told me how they haven't been paid in three months because of the poor economical state of their country and city. There is no union there to protect them and their employer doesn't help either.
They also don't have direct insurance coverage and must pay out of pocket for their hospital care . At the end of treatment each case will be evaluated by a Dr. and he decides how much they should be reimbursed.
Funds are needed immediately for the hospital expenses and care of these brave dedicated fire fighters and funds to feed and house their families during these hard times.
Please, think about how lucky we are and how quickly we can give hope, if each of us gives something to help our brothers in fire fighting. These are honest hardworking men who have families counting on them, let's do all we can to help them.
Thank you so very much,
Pamela Hall
Fire Fighter/Acting Captain
Caledon Fire & Emergency Services
Ontario Canada
I am a career fire fighter with the Town of Caledon Fire & Emergency Services and while visiting friends in Zimbabwe Africa October 2015 I spent an afternoon at the local fire station and met the crew working that day. What a wonderful group of men.
They explained how most of their trucks and equipment is second hand and sent from other countries. Even some of their station uniforms are hand me downs from a US Fire Department.
The week of October 17, 2016 they responded to a commercial property fire with reports of people trapped. What they weren't told by people on scene was that there was 30,000 litres of illegally stored Ethanol inside. As the fire spread the Ethanol became involved and it exploded, engulfing the search crew as they looked for the trapped occupants.
The fire was intense and became defensive after the Ethanol exploded. Structure fire fighting gear isn't infallible, especially when its been used and sent down second hand. Three of the fire fighters suffered severe burns and were rushed to hospital. Two of them had to be sent to South Africa for treatment as their local city hospital didn't have the resources for their special care and treatment.
These brave men all have young families who depend on them and now have no financial income for everyday necessities, let alone health care. While talking with my friend on the crew he told me how they haven't been paid in three months because of the poor economical state of their country and city. There is no union there to protect them and their employer doesn't help either.
They also don't have direct insurance coverage and must pay out of pocket for their hospital care . At the end of treatment each case will be evaluated by a Dr. and he decides how much they should be reimbursed.
Funds are needed immediately for the hospital expenses and care of these brave dedicated fire fighters and funds to feed and house their families during these hard times.
Please, think about how lucky we are and how quickly we can give hope, if each of us gives something to help our brothers in fire fighting. These are honest hardworking men who have families counting on them, let's do all we can to help them.
Thank you so very much,
Pamela Hall
Fire Fighter/Acting Captain
Caledon Fire & Emergency Services
Ontario Canada
Organizer
Pamela Hall
Organizer
Palgrave, ON
