British firefighters’ solidarity with Turkish firefighters

The following message of solidarity was sent by Matt Wrack, the general-secretary of the Fire Brigades Union in Britain, to the Turkish firefighters’ union on June 29.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters

“RE: SOLIDARITY WITH TURKISH FIREFIGHTERS

“I write on behalf of the Fire Brigades Union to express our solidarity with you after the terrible bombings yesterday at Istanbul airport. We utterly condemn these senseless terrorist attacks, which have killed ordinary working people going about their lives. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those affected.

“We also wanted to express our pride and admiration for Turkish firefighters, who attended the scenes of these atrocities and took care of the dead and injured. FBU members had similar experiences with the bombings of 7 July 2005, when 52 people were killed and scores injured in London. The professionalism shown by Turkish firefighters is of great credit to your service and will be recognised by firefighters around the world.

“Firefighters across the UK stand shoulder to shoulder with you and pay tribute to the outstanding contribution you make to the safety of citizens. We stand ready to assist and to offer our solidarity whenever necessary.”