Firefighters and first responders from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties, as well as fire departments in Southern California, are working together to collect donations for Ukrainian firefighters.
The local effort is part of Project Joint Guardian, a nationwide program to send needed firefighting and rescue equipment to first responders in Ukraine.
Santa Barbara City Fire Capt. Isaac Siegel spearheaded the effort to collect supplies on the South Coast, and, quickly, agencies from across the Tri-Counties and beyond stepped up to assist fire service brothers and sisters in war-torn Ukraine.
A team of Santa Barbara City, Montecito, and Carpinteria-Summerland firefighters are traveling to San Diego Tuesday, picking up supplies from fire departments on their way. They are expected to arrive back in Santa Barbara Wednesday afternoon and will deliver the donations to Santa Barbara City Fire’s Training Tower, 30 S. Olive St.
Once the donations arrive in Santa Barbara, Direct Relief International will inventory the items and ship them to Ukraine.