St. Johns County firefighters donate gear for Ukrainian first responders

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — As the war between Russia and Ukraine wages on, local firefighters are showing their support for their brothers and sisters fighting to protect their community during this difficult time.

“We have a friend of ours who is a firefighter here at St. Johns County and he’s part of our union, he knows somebody who is a firefighter in New Jersey who is also from Ukraine, and he is familiar with the issues that they’re having,” Jimi Palmer, an engineer with St. Johns County Fire Rescue said.

The St. Johns’ County Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics union became aware that Ukrainian firefighters overseas were in desperate need of gear and equipment.

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Palmer told Action News Jax that even during a war, they are still fighting to keep their people safe.

“When I’m looking at all the video footage that we’re seeing from Ukraine, I know that these people — they’re working hard. I know that any one of us would be there answering the call,” Palmer said.

That’s why the union decided to help too by collecting and donating used gear and equipment.

The gear is life-saving protection for those brave firefighters overseas.

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“The NFPA gives us a standard of 10 years from the date of the manufacturer for our gear and then after those 10 years we typically throw it away but right now we have an opportunity to recycle it and give it to people who are in need,” Palmer said.

The union is also working with all the St. Johns County fire stations to collect additional items for Ukraine.

“You can give nonperishable food items, rice, sugar, cereal, things like that and toiletries things like that, toothbrushes, deodorant, soaps, and shampoos,” Palmer said.

The donation drive runs from April 6th to April 16th.

On the 16th you can also drop off items at the St. Johns County Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics union from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Items they are looking for include:

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes

Bar of Soap

Shampoo

Sanitary Pads

Diapers

Wet Wipes/Baby Wipes

Towels

New Socks

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