BNF Bank fundraises for the Emergency Fire and Rescue Unit
The NGO and non-profit volunteer organisation EFRU - the Emergency Fire and Rescue Unit - is off on a fund-raising cycling tour in Sicily, supported by BNF Bank. They will be cycling across a challenging 300 km stretch of Sicilian undulating terrain. The objective is to collect donations for the organisation's operations to maintain a team of fully trained rescuers, first responders and fire-fighting personnel.
The skills acquired by the team in Urban Search and Rescue, Technical Rope Rescue and Swift Water Rescue are deployed in cases of national and European calamities such as earthquakes, floods and collapsed buildings. The members train to operate in a variety of disaster situations and perform their duties on a voluntary basis. The commitment of EFRU members is evident in the successful operations undertaken and the positive imprint on people's lives.
Through BNF's staff initiative #YourCause, employees have rallied around a staff member who is also a veteran member of EFRU, to raise additional funds for the association to be able to purchase a portable oxygen tank and a Laerdal suction unit - a portable, powerful and highly reliable suction unit designed for trauma casualty support in emergency situations.
EFRU member and BNF employee Keith Borg said: "I am both proud and grateful that the Bank is supporting a cause I personally believe in and have been working hard at for many years. BNF's generosity and support will permit our organisation to continue to function at the high standards we have achieved, and to develop further. I am also indebted to my colleagues, who chose EFRU as the cause for donations for our monthly #YourCause initiative."
"We are impressed with EFRU's numerous achievements, including that of founding a European Association in which volunteer teams from different European countries train and work together in civil protection disciplines," said Adrian Coppini, Chief Operating Officer at BNF Bank. "We believe in attaining the highest of standards in all that we do, and EFRU is an example of such benchmarks. We are sure our support will spur the team to do even more, for the benefit of society."
The European organisation with EFRU as a founding member - EVOLSAR - trains and deploys firefighting, high angle rescue, technical rope rescue, urban search and rescue and swift water rescue. Joint training exercises are carried out routinely to enable standardisation and harmonisation within and between the teams. EVOLSAR was applauded by fellow European Volunteer rescue teams and has since become a family of more than 15 voluntary teams from around Europe.
