A team of friends are crossing the globe in a fire engine for charity.
By Benedict Munden
A globe-trotting son completed the 100th day of an around-the-world trip in a fire engine on Monday.
Wimbledon banker, Steve Moore, was inspired to organise the fundraiser for lung cancer charities after his father Garth, a fire fighter of 33 years, died from the illness.
Mr Moore is being helped on the record breaking nine-month trip by a group of friends who have taken it in turns to join him on different legs of the journey.
A team set out from London in July – the first anniversary of Garth’s death. They have since crossed Europe, Russia and China, and are now in South East Asia.
Before they left England London Mayor Boris Johnson wished them luck and gave them directions to Moscow.
“The fire engine is bang on schedule to the day,” said Mr Moore’s girlfriend Amy Harpin.
Miss Harpin said although the event was a logistical nightmare everything was meticulously planned.
The team of drivers received medical and mechanical training, learned basic Russian and were coached security skills by the SAS before they left.
Mr Moore said: “We’ve had to learn everything from scratch.”
These skills proved vital when the engine’s crew witnessed a lorry pile into a line of cars at the Russian border where they were stuck for 31 hours.
The fundraisers used their training to help a number of casualties and secure the area by safely pulling people out of cars.
“It is worrying to think what might have happened if they hadn’t been there,” said Miss Harpin.
However, the group were not able to prepare for the discomfort of driving a fire engine over the undeveloped roads of Mongolia and Kazakhstan for ten hours a day.
They also had difficulty navigating the narrow streets in China and at one moment got stuck down an alleyway.
To follow the progress of the fire engine, or to donate to their nominated charities, visit www.followthatfireengine.com.
