RESCUE vehicles donated by Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue are in service in the earthquake-ravaged Chile.

A turntable ladder fire engine was given to Chile in 2004 and is now in service in Temuco, and arrangements have been made for two more fire engines to be sent to Chile soon.

These vehicles have been decommissioned from service in Gloucestershire and replaced.

Two 4x4 Rapid Intervention Vehicles are also in service in Peru, having been donated to Gloucestershire-based charity Rapid UK, along with a small rescue appliance.

Rapid UK provide experienced staff and vital equipment in response to disasters anywhere in the world.

They have recently returned from helping with the rescue effort in Haiti and were on standby for the Chilean earthquake, but the Chilean emergency services have not asked for international assistance. Gloucestershire County Councillor Jeremy Hilton has been instrumental in arranging for the Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service equipment to be sent to Chile. His wife, Polly, a homecare worker with the county council, is from Chile and has family still living in the country.

She has not been able to speak to her daughter, Karla, 29 in Concepcion – only a few miles from the epicentre of the earthquake - since it hit. However, her other daughter Carolina who lives in Temuco , has been in touch with Karla and has confirmed she is safe.

Cllr Hilton went to see the turntable ladder in service in Temuco in December 2009. He also visited the fire stations at Dalcahue, on the island of Chiloe, and Pitrufquen, a rural community south of Temuco, where the two latest fire engines are headed.

He said: “The fire companies in Chile are basically voluntary organisations run very much like our lifeboat service on donations and Government grants. Surplus equipment from other countries helps make the money go further. These engines are surplus to requirements here but will make a huge difference over there, especially in rural areas and fishing villages that tend to have the oldest equipment.

“The turntable ladder Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service sent over to Chile has already put in about 140 hours of service and it was great to see it in action. We donate the engines but they arrange for them to be shipped and converted to left-hand drive.

“The two fire engines that we are planning to send to Chile will help save people’s lives in rural communities in Chile. I know the fire-fighters (bomberos) will take great care of these fire engines.”

Cllr Will Windsor Clive, Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: “I’m delighted that the turntable ladder fire engine we originally sent over has been such a big help at the fire station in Temuco and that we now have two more ready to be shipped over.

“It’s satisfying that equipment that we no longer need is being put to such good use in Chile and in other countries around the world that need it so desperately. My thoughts are with the people of Chile as they deal with the devastating aftermath of the recent earthquake.”