Fire engine fun for Chernobyl children

A group of 10 year old girls from Chernobyl will be visiting Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Potterne headquarters on Monday 14 July.

The Manor House and its grounds will be used to host a ‘farewell party’ for the eight girls and the families they have been staying with since arriving in England several weeks ago.

As well as enjoying fun and games, face painting and party food, the girls will be visited by the crew from Devizes fire station at about 6.30pm. They will also be given goodie bags at the end of the evening, containing gifts such as toiletries, trinkets and accessories.

Organised by Devizes man Tony Brewer, the annual visit enables girls selected by the Chernobyl government to receive essential health care. The children are chosen as being those most likely to benefit from visiting the UK, in the hope that it will extend their life expectancy by a few years.

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Melanie Jezzard, who organises the party at Potterne, said: “All of the girls are suffering from terminal illness and many of them have lost members of their immediate family through critical illnesses caused by the fatal incident that happened in Chernobyl in 1986. In the past, the evening has proven to be a wonderful, fulfilling event and I hope that this year’s party will prove to be the same.”

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