FIREFIGHTER Ged Richmond will be put on the hotspot when he blazes a trail to Rwanda today.

For The African country is establishing a new fire brigade which Ged, who is based in Accrington, is helping to train.

He is one of a group of 10 members of the Fire Service Research and Rescue Team heading to the country.

The Rwandan people have recently been given 14 green goddesses - old British fire engines.

The team will be spending between three to six weeks in the capital, Kigali, teaching the Rwandan police force firefighting methods and showing them how to use the equipment.

They will be demonstrating pump operations, how to carry out rescues and ladder techniques.

It is the first time Ged, from Burnley, has been to Rwanda but two years ago he spent time in Tanzania working with the fire service.

He said: "I am looking forward to going out there, but you can never be quite sure what conditions will be like.

"There's been a lot of unrest in Rwanda since the uprising in 1994 and I am slightly apprehensive of what we will find."

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