THREE fire engines sent from Scotland to provide humanitarian aid to firefighters in Ukraine have now been stuck at the Polish border for a week.
The Scottish Emergency Rescue Association (SERA) sent the engines with their team from their Edinburgh base last Thursday and have been halted at the Poland-Ukraine border since then.
The charity has also received a fine of over £10,000 for “clerical discrepancies”, despite filling out and gaining permission for the journey before setting off.
Now, SERA is calling on its supporters to place pressure on Polish ministers through email and social media, using the hashtag #ReleaseTheEngines.
Founded by former station officer at Fife Fire and Rescue Service, Gary Bennett, SERA is dedicated to equipping and training firefighters in countries such as Serbia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.
The charity has now sent out an urgent appeal for the “Release of Lifesaving Fire Engines Impounded at Polish Border”.
They state that they have also witnessed other aid vehicles heading for Ukraine “suffer the same fate” whilst waiting at the border, with ambulances taken away as charities are unable to pay the weighty fines they receive.
After contacting the Department of Humanitarian Aid in Poland, it was discovered that the vehicles were stopped due to discrepancies in paperwork, which arose after an “administrative error” in processing forms.
Now, it is understood that customs officials cannot release the vehicles without authorisation from the Ministry of Finance and/or the Ministry of Infrastructure – prompting SERA to ask the public to email these departments or spread the word using the hashtag.
Today, they have asked their followers to send a message to Polish Ministers Dariusz Klimczak and Andrzej Doma?ski at midday, as they have received no response from them as of yet.
The vehicles are waiting a mere hundred metres from Ukraine and carry a lorry load of critical supplies that will give aid to those in the ongoing conflict in the country.
Speaking today, founder Gary Bennett, who is with the engines on the border, said: “We are still stuck and with no response coming from either the Minister of Finance or Minister of Infrastructure.
“We are just updating our daily Facebook feed and I have copied the email contents we are asking people to send directly to the ministers.”
The email is as follows: “#releasetheengines.
“The Scottish Emergency Rescue Association (SERA) is an Edinburgh-based volunteer charity (founded in 2007) that has supported Ukrainian firefighters since 2019, delivering 36 fire engines and over 130 tonnes of essential equipment.
“On December 5, 2024, they departed with three fire engines and a lorry load of critical supplies.
“At the Polish border, despite following guidance from Polish authorities, they were fined over £10,000 for clerical discrepancies and they impounded the vehicles.
“The Department of Humanitarian Aid issued our paperwork and gave permission on 4 December for us to travel but later admitted they submitted the necessary paperwork late and only on 9 December.
“They acknowledge the administrative error but are not taking responsibility for the mistake or informing Border Control about the issue.
“These fines threaten the ability to continue lifesaving humanitarian missions.
“We implore those in charge to waive the fines and release the fire engines as soon as possible.”
The Polish Department for Humanitarian Aid and both the Minister of Infrastructure and Minister for Defence have been contacted for comment.
