Lyons, SD - (May 9, 2008) - Helping second and third world countries equip
their fire stations is no easy task, but it is a problem that one group is
trying to tackle. The International Fire Relief Mission (IFRM) began in 2007 as
an idea and has since become a reality over the past year.
Creators Mark Allen and Ron
Gruening were first struck by the idea of creating an organization that
dedicated its services to raising funds and collecting equipment for under-equipped
stations after a church missionary trip to Moldova,
a small country situated between Romania
and Ukraine.
After stumbling upon a fire
station that was in desperate need of new equipment and speaking with the
firefighters, they came back to the U.S. to put a plan into action.
Their plan relied heavily on outside sources to donate needed items, and because
of the kindness of others, IFRM was able to raise $540,000 in equipment and monetary
donations for Moldova.
Word of this organization is spreading and gaining the much needed support from
many companies nation wide, including Rosenbauer.
Gruening shared his story
with Kevin Kirvida, with the General
Division of Rosenbauer America,
and since then, Rosenbauer has been a helping hand in the cause.
Rosenbauer invited IFRM to
attend its annual dealer meeting to help spread the word among its dealer
network in March. In April, Rosenbauer expanded on that invitation and shared
their booth with IFRM at FDIC so that the organization could reach all of the fire
industries' companies. The General Division has also provided free flooring,
storage and office space to Gruening and his staff at its facilities.
Kirvida commented, "We are
more than happy to help in any way we can. This is a great cause and we hope
that we can help generate more support for the organization and our fellow
firefighters abroad."
If you would like to help
IFRM with their future missions, please visit their website at www.ifrm-equipment.org to learn more.
Rosenbauer is the world's
leading manufacturer of firefighting vehicles and equipment. In North America,
Rosenbauer incorporates the international strength and innovation of a global
company with top American manufacturing firms. For more information, please
visit the company's website - www.rosenbaueramerica.com.
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Contact: Kevin Kirvida,
General Division of Rosenbauer America
(651) 462-1000, kkirvida@rosenbaueramerica.com
