9/11 firefighters to visit Malvern

The visit takes place on Tuesday, July 1 and will include tour of the facilities, including the line rescue equipment and other specialist appliances.

Station officer Ian Seward said the visit was quite an honour.

"It's a tremendous opportunity to meet colleagues from around the world," he said.

"We don't get many opportunities to get together and take about issues that affect firefighters on the ground. It would be really nice to try and share some of their experiences."

The previous day, the New York firefighters will be guests of honour at a special reception at Ledbury Fire Station, where they will meet retained fire crews from across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Among them will be firefighters from Upton and Bromyard.

Ledbury has been picked because of its convenient location and facilities. However, the town is also being honoured for the £4,100 the Ledbury crew collected for the dependents of New York firefighters who lost their lives in the 2001 attack.

In total, Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade raised £163,000.

Terry Phillips, sub-officer at Ledbury Station, said: "It's a great honour. What happened on September 11 was devastating and I can only admire the sacrifices that were made.

"It's so sad to think of the people left behind. The number of firefighters killed in New York on that day was equivalent to the numbers of fire crew that the Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade can deploy."

Invitations are still to be issued for the event on June 30 but local VIP guests will be invited to attend, including the mayor of Ledbury, Coun Keith Francis.

The day before the Americans arrive in the town, they will be guests of honour at the Royal Albert Hall, in London, at an event called Spirit of Fire, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Fire Service's National Benevolent Fund.

In 1942, at the height of the Blitz, American donations to help the bereaved families of British firefighters were used to set up the fund.