Fire engines from Stade: life-saving help for Ukraine!

Fire engines from Stade: life-saving help for Ukraine!

The support of the Ukrainian fire brigades through donated vehicles from the Stade district is becoming increasingly important. The initiator of this valuable aid campaign, District Administrator Kai Seefried, has been working since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022 to ensure that the brave Ukrainian emergency services receive the support they urgently need. Businessman Grischa Kaflowsky is a driving force on the Ukrainian side. Kaflowsky fled to Kehdingen and took on a central role as a bridge between the aid from Germany and the local fire departments District newspaper weekly reported.

One of the donated fire engines is currently being used in the Kiev suburb of Tschabany. Kaflowsky lives there directly opposite the fire station and can experience first hand how important the support from Germany is. The Tschabany fire department received a converted fire engine from the Krummendeich fire department after a previous Ukrainian fire engine was damaged by Russian missiles, injuring two firefighters. A VW bus, which served as a command vehicle, is also in service.

Ceremonial inauguration in Ternopil

In the summer of 2025, another fire engine from Stade County was ceremoniously put into service in Ternopil. The handover took place during a church service attended by numerous citizens. During the ceremony, Kaflowsky was able to emphasize how important the help from Stade is in saving human lives. He reported that many people have already been saved through this support. District Administrator Seefried also praised the Ukrainian emergency services as “true heroes” and highlighted their heroic work under extreme conditions, such as those Website of the Stade district documented.

The need for fire engines in Ukraine remains high. Kaflowsky would even like to have a boat for operations on the Dnepr in order to be able to respond to the rescue and fire-fighting operations there even more effectively. The cooperation between the two sides should therefore continue to be strengthened. Kaflowsky plans to hand over another fire engine from Horneburg to the Tschabany fire department in the summer of 2024.

Help through donations

In order to continue to support the campaign, various ways to donate have been created. Citizens can deposit money into certain accounts using the keyword “Ukraine Aid for the Stade District”. The donations go to organizations such as the German Red Cross and Johanniter-Unfallhilfe. The current account information is as follows:

• DRK-Kreisverband Stade Flüchtlingshilfe gGmbH, IBAN: DE 91 2419 1015 1009 3346 00
• Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V. – Regionalverband Bremen-Verden, IBAN: DE 16 3702 0500 0004 3107 18

This international solidarity impressively shows how important the commitment of the voluntary fire brigades and the support of civil society are. In Bavaria, too, organizations like the LFV Bayern actively support aid transports to Ukraine and thus support the needs on site. Together they are doing everything possible to support the fire departments in Ukraine in the fight against the destruction caused by the war. The willingness to donate shows that, even in a tense political climate, cohesion and humanity are the top priority.