He puts the suitcase on the living room table. Packs passport, sleeping bag, communication equipment and power bank. It is not certain that there is electricity where he is going. He is prepared for something to happen. Something always happens along the way that cannot be planned. Cars can smoke. Erlend Nikolai Berg will lead a convoy of 23 fire trucks and two ambulances going to Ukraine. PREPARATION: Erlend Nikolai Berg packs lightly, but smartly. The equipment they deliver to Ukraine enables the Ukrainian fire service to do a good job, he says. It will really make a difference. He usually runs Maxbo in Etnedal, where he has several employees. He also works part-time as a fire constable in Etnedal municipality. He travels to Ukraine as a volunteer. As a fire constable you want to save lives, but in Norway you can go through your entire career without doing it. He thinks it’s good to know that the equipment they deliver will help someone survive in Ukraine. Leader Erlend is the kind of person who prefers to fill his spare time with watching the children and hunting moose. In the last year, he has spent half of the day at Norwegian Ukrainian Fire and Ambulance Support (NUBAS). This is NUBAS Norwegian Ukrainian Fire and Ambulance Support, NUBAS, is a humanitarian non-profit organisation. The purpose of the organization is to effectively hand over Norwegian donations of fire and ambulance equipment, including vehicles to war-affected Ukraine. All donated funds go fully to expenses in connection with the transport of vehicles and materials to Ukraine. NUBAS has direct contact with the management of the fire service in Ukraine, who continuously reports the need. The fire trucks and equipment NUBAS, in cooperation with other humanitarian organizations, has already handed over to Ukraine have been put into use in eastern Ukraine. The members of the board are associated with various emergency response agencies and transport companies around Norway. Everyone on the board and other members therefore work voluntarily and without pay. Source: NUBAS When NUBAS now embarks on its eighth trip, it is Erlend’s fifth. CERTIFICATE OF HONOR: Erlend Nikolai Berg shows off a diploma he received after one of his trips to Ukraine. Outside in the courtyard is a shiny red SUV. A Mitsubishi Pajero 2010 model. It has been used as a command vehicle for the fire service at Gardermoen. The car has been given as a gift by Avinor. Erlend carefully sticks the NUBAS logo on the bonnet. He sits in. LEAD CAR: While Erlend drives to Ukraine, his wife and their three children remain in Valdres. He leaves the snowy Valdres. The first target is Sarpsborg. Then it will be Sweden, Poland and then Ukraine. On the way, he will meet the other volunteers who will drive in the column. He seems calm. As a fire constable, he is used to improvising and solving problems as they arise. Nevertheless, the instructions for safety on the journey are on several A4 pages. Erlend believes that it is in the nature of a fire constable to think about situations that are bigger than what they are in right then and there. His motivation is clear. – We feel that supporting our colleagues in Ukraine is very important. We can make a small contribution to ensure they do a good job. The seriousness sets in In a half-dark conference hall in Sarpsborg, volunteers fill the chairs. Two ladies, the rest men. They don’t get paid. They even pay for the food themselves. They take their vacation. In addition, some pensioners are included. On a large screen, Erlend and the others watch a mobile video. Ukrainian firefighter Ihor Karelin talks about war and destruction. The video shows dead people and destroyed houses. People who cry out their despair. Reality hits the hall like a sledgehammer. The fire and ambulance personnel from all over Norway understand what they are looking for. They understand how important the help is. SERIOUS: The mobile video from the war in Ukraine leaves a mark on those watching in Sarpsborg. Primus engine and spirit in NUBAS, Odd Steinar Rønne, leads the drivers’ meeting. A form is passed around. Everyone signs that they participate at their own risk. The seriousness sets in. The column of the times, Odd Steinar has called it. The number of vehicles is more than twice as large as what they have delivered before. The record so far is eleven cars on one trip. With this column, they will have transported a total of 78 emergency vehicles. In addition, there is rescue equipment, clothing and materials. The cars must go. It is early morning. The moon is still up. 25 emergency vehicles are started. The stench of coal sludge is strong when so many old diesel engines are heated up. The cars are lined up outside the police station in Sarpsborg. The city is still sleeping. PROUD: All the fire engines and ambulances have Ukrainian flags attached. SIGNAL: They want to be clear about why so many fire engines are on the roads. Odd Steinar is eager. With rapid arm movements and loud shouts, he communicates with the drivers. He wants to start. There are 2,000 kilometers of country road to drive before the column arrives. The column begins to move. Erlend gives commands over radio. Finally, 1.5 kilometers of fire engines and ambulances are out on the E6 towards Svinesund. Now the trip to Ukraine is in earnest. FIRST BORDER PASSING: At Svinesund there will be a stop. The cars are cleared out of Norway. POWERFUL VISION: With many fire engines on the go, planning is required. COORDINATION: Along the way, it is constantly summarized and planned. Column leader Erlend has a lot to keep track of. In Poland A beautiful pink sky meets the column when they disembark from the ferry in Gedynia in Poland. COLUMN: Off the ferry. There are fire engines ahead. There are fire engines behind. The dawn is broken by 1.5 kilometers of flashing emergency lights. It is the Polish police that require blue lights to be used throughout Poland. After a while, the walkie-talkie crackles. Column leader Erlend has found a place where they can stop. There will be a new driver briefing. INTERACTION: Erlend Nikolai Berg and Odd Steinar Rønne lead the gathering. COMMUNITY: There are brothers on tour, and two sisters. A community. Some Polish cyclists are stumped. But the smiles and the v sign come when they see the Ukrainian flags on the fire engines. That the aid is going to Ukraine gets a good response. IN A ROW: The fire engines in the column are 20 to 40 years old. Some of them are driven in low gear and make so much noise that the drivers have to wear hearing protection. They are built for dirt roads and snow in the outskirts of Norway. Not Polish motorways. The column is set in motion again. Erlend in tet with lead car. The rest follows. Problems on the road Odd Steinar sits in car number two. He receives a message from Ihor, who is the fire chief in the town of Kryvyj Rih. Hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A city the size of Oslo. FREQUENT CONTACT: Odd Steinar looks at one of the latest videos that Ihor has sent. The war moves closer. Ihor and his colleagues are on their way through Ukraine to meet the column. They have already been awake for 35 hours after Russian attacks. Kryvyj Rih is now without electricity. Now they are on an 11-hour drive to collect the Norwegian equipment. The tanker from Fyresdal fire service has problems. It is the dynamo that breaks. However, a few thousand years of experience in fire and rescue produce results. EMERGENCY STOP: A brought power generator is started and charges the truck batteries while they are driving. It will be fine until they get to Ukraine. They fix everything there. The afternoon through Poland. A blood-red sun sinks behind trees and fields. Nothing suggests that they are approaching a country at war. Perhaps apart from the column with blue lights from Norway. COLUMN WITH HOPE: Blue light cutting through the evening in Poland. The Unimog truck from Stryn has a puncture. It is fixed. Late in the evening, the column arrives at the border between Poland and Ukraine. There, Odd Steinar takes over the management. The NUBAS leader has all the contacts in Ukraine. And most experience with the border crossing between the Schengen country Poland and Ukraine. The fact that 25 vehicles must be deregistered in Schengen and imported into the war-torn country makes the paperwork extensive. – We gather here. Odd Steinar calls out the message to the group. Into Ukraine They are allowed to cross the border. On the Ukrainian side, they meet Ihor Karelin. He has put 11 hours of driving behind him. Now he is ready to help the Norwegian volunteers through the Ukrainian part of customs. Outside it is zero degrees and windy. Inside the common room there is little light and heat. A single light bulb testifies that they are in a country that saves on electricity. For the first time, the results of Putin’s destruction are being felt. The result of Russia attacking civilian targets with missiles for months. IN PLACE: Ihor Karelin, the fire chief in Kryvyi Rih, has come to help Odd Steinar and the rest through the Ukrainian part of customs. SIMPLE CONDITIONS: The desk is covered with documents describing each individual vehicle. It is necessary for them to be registered in Ukraine. LIGHT IN THE DARK: The re-registration takes many hours. After nine hours in customs, the convoy is finally in Ukraine. It is dark. The volunteer Norwegians drive a few kilometers to a large car park where a bus is waiting. Now they can soon sleep for a few hours. FORWARD: The bus is full of tired Norwegians. Erlend sits almost at the back of the bus. He, like the others, is happy to be ahead. Happy to be able to close my eyes for an hour or two before the Ukrainian fire and rescue workers are to be trained on the use of cars and equipment. Hope in hell The next day, the Ukrainian firefighters receive training on how the fire engines work. Cars that until now have kept the residents of Stryn, Gulen, Meråker and Kirkenes safe. The language barrier is palpable. Everyone adds goodwill. Language apps are used extensively. TRAINING: Training is given in how the fire engines work. LANGUAGE APPS: Instructions for use are translated into Ukrainian when using apps. READY: Thumbs up. Now the fire trucks can be used in Ukraine. The Ukrainians are eager. They face international solidarity. They encounter brotherhood. Last but not least: They get equipment to be able to save lives. To be able to ensure that as many Ukrainians as possible survive the horrors of the war. The laugh is loose. The same with the tears. Well-grown men who have never seen each other before give each other good hugs. SMIL: Morten Meslo from Kirkenes and the Ukrainian colleague have encountered language barriers, but their gratitude can be expressed with more than words. It is time for departure. GRATITUDE: Ukrainians know how to thank and pay attention to the Norwegian volunteers who have transported fire engines and ambulances to Ukraine. In the midst of hell on earth, hope has arisen. Hope that has been kindled through empathy and humanity. FRIENDSHIP: Ihor Karelin and Odd Steinar hug each other. The backdrop is horrible. The scene that unfolds is beautiful. Reunion In the middle of this stand Odd Steinar from Steinkjer and Erlend Nikolai Berg from Valdres. Here they feel alive. Here they feel like firefighters. Here they save lives. THE GOAL HAS BEEN REACHED: The firefighters wave goodbye to the Norwegian fire trucks and the Ukrainian colleagues who are driving off to war-torn areas in Ukraine. Odd Steinar sees the Ukrainians leaving for the east. The good old Dodge from Hornindal and the Unimogen from Stryn disappeared there. Blue lights and sirens come on. The Ukrainians wave. Busy putting your nose to the east. Towards the war zone. Towards hell. To help their countrymen. To save as many as possible. IN USE: The Dodge from Hornindal on its way to eastern Ukraine. Odd Steinar and the rest of the Norwegian colleagues stand together. They have already started thinking about the next column. The need is insatiable. Then it is good to know that the willingness to donate is also great. They have fire engines at home waiting. And ambulances. Odd Steinar picks up the phone again. READ ALSO: Here are Norwegian fire engines in place in Ukraine Thomas donated the family car to Ukraine – now he is on his way again
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Blue light to Ukraine – Long reading from the interior
