PEORIA, Ill. – As war rages on in Eastern Europe, national politics were a topic of discussion on Peoria’s Horseshoe this week as the council weighed sending a decommissioned fire truck to Ukraine.
The City Council approved sending the decommissioned fire truck to fight fires caused by the war in a divided vote.
The issue was initially on the council’s consent agenda, however it was removed from the agenda list and debated before a vote.
Seven council members voted in favor of sending the truck to Ukraine, and two members voted against it.
Councilmen Kiran Velpula and Mike Vespa voted against the bill, citing bad timing and fears of retaliation from President Trump’s administration.
“I don’t like to get into national politics when I’m sitting here, but this does kinda implicate it. I don’t like possibly putting a target on our backs by helping Ukraine, when I do think they are deserving of help,” Vespa said.
Vespa brought up attempts to fire staffers at Peoria’s Ag Lab and fears of grants being withheld as some possible negative outcomes.
Peoria-based US Ambulances for Ukraine, the non-profit coordinating the donation, says that donated vehicles are only used for humanitarian purposes.
Peoria’s donated truck is 20 years old. It was set to be taken out of service this spring, and firefighters have already stopped using it for training purposes. The city salvaged anything it could still use from the truck.
A ship carrying the fire truck and other donated emergency vehicles from around the nation will leave in April. After arriving in Europe, the vehicles will make their way to Ukraine.
“To get it from the hometown is great. I’ll probably be the one driving it into Ukraine, so it’s even better to be able to say this is a fire engine from my town,” Chris Manson, the president and founder of US Ambulances for Ukraine, tells 25 News.
Manson says Peoria’s fire truck will be used for many of the same purposes as it was here, but many of the fires it helps put out will be caused by the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
Comments