The Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP), brought over firefighter from the US to assist Israeli fire crews in day to day emergency calls. The EVP is supported by donations from the Sinai Temple, a synagogue in California.
The EVP fire crews have already helped to contain brush fires in the Jerusalem area and are on alert for the rest of the week with multiple fires expected because of the unusual high temperatures.
"EVP is always dedicated to saving lives in Israel, this current deployment has our firefighters supporting operations in the Jerusalem and Ayalon regions where extreme weather increases the risks of brush fires," said Eitan Charnoff, emergency deployment director and Spokesperson.
"EVP continues to expand our routine deployments of American firefighters to Israels National Fire service. This current deployment consist of firefighters from as far away as Texas, California and even Hawaii and was made possible by the generosity of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. This is the third deployment they have sponsored this year," said Adi Zahavi, founder and CEO.
Firefighter Andrew Economedes from Ponder Texas said, "No matter where you go even though things are different they are also the same."