When its sponsoring partner Rosenbauer asked for help collecting donated gear to aid Chilean emergency responders dealing with that country’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake, the International Fire Relief Mission (IFRM) responded.

IFRM President Ron Gruening and IFRM volunteer Barry Mossbarger are setting out this weekend in a sweep across the Midwest to collect used gear. From there, they will return to the IFRM headquarters outside St. Paul, Minn., where they will sort and crate the items, and prepare the customs documents necessary for shipping. To assist IFRM in traveling across the country to collect donated gear, U-Haul is making use of a 26-foot moving truck available at no charge.

Task Force Tips came through with donated nozzles, wyes and adaptors. Likewise, IFRM sponsor GearGrid contributed to this effort.

IFRM has had good initial response to its call for equipment, but more help is needed. The gear IFRM collects will be shipped to Chile on March 12. Any fire departments with gear to donate should contact Ron Gruening at 612-669-8500.