Jun. 28—SOUTH WINDSOR — The South Windsor Fire Department donated retired but viable firefighting gear this month to a shipment that is bound for Ukraine this week.

Konstantin Tartakovsky of Trumbull, a firefighter who lived in Ukraine for 11 years, said he already had 20 sets of older protective equipment and thought he could send it to Ukraine to help with the war effort.

"I'm just a Ukrainian-American firefighter trying to help Ukrainian firefighters," Tartakovsky said.

Tartakovsky said he saw a news story of a New Jersey man who worked with a shipping company to send over firefighting equipment.

"He was able to secure a shipment company and secure contact on the Ukrainian side that would distribute it ... I got the idea of seeing if I could grow this beyond 20 sets," Tartakovsky said.

South Windsor Fire Chief Kevin Cooney said many pieces of equipment must be retired after a number of years under National Fire Protection Association, NFPA, requirements.

"Whether it's in great shape or not, we're not allowed to use it," Cooney said.

Cooney said the town has donated decommissioned equipment to rural areas of the United States in the past and "jumped on the bandwagon" alongside other local departments to send equipment to Ukraine.

"It seems like a logical, excellent, awesome thing to do," Cooney said.

Tartakovsky said South Windsor donated 17 sets of coats and pants, 13 pairs of boots, 20 hazmat suits, and 26 sets of hazmat boots and gloves, all of which are past their 10-year marks for NFPA requirements.

"While we can't use it, it's perfectly usable for a country that's under war and doesn't have NFPA regulations," Tartakovsky said.

Tartakovsky said other types of equipment he collected from fire departments include Jaws of Life, medical supplies, and oxygen packs and masks.

Cooney said there is a clear need for the equipment.

"As you watch the news, they're going through their troubles ... one of the constant things you see in the forefront is Ukrainian firefighters going out and doing their job," Cooney said.

Tartakovsky said the shipment, with equipment donated by many other Connecticut fire departments, will be headed to New Jersey on Wednesday.

From there, an international shipping company will handle logistics, packing, and shipping to a logistics hub in Ukraine, with people in the country ready to distribute the equipment to areas in need.

Joseph covers East Hartford and South Windsor. He joined the JI in July 2021. Joseph graduated from the University of Connecticut and he is an avid guitarist and coffee enthusiast.

Until yesterday, it was hard to imagine how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas could have made the Court’s term any worse. Thomas is considered the ideological godfather of an emboldened, far-right majority on the Court that in the past week alone weakened Miranda rights for people detained by cops, removed the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to actually protect the environment and obliterated the national right to an abortion for women. In that last instance, Thomas didn’t write the

White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's dramatic testimony this week has provided not only a new account of the actions of then-President Donald Trump and chief of staff Mark Meadows before and on Jan. 6, 2021, but it's also raised questions about where the House select committee's investigation will go next, including concerning Trump's potential legal liability. In a nearly two-hour hearing Tuesday, Hutchinson painted a picture of Trump, who, after speaking at his "Save America" rally on the Ellipse, insisted on being taken to the Capitol as Congress met to certify electoral votes, demanding to join his supporters, she said, despite having been told some were armed with weapons.

In January, Justice Stephen Breyer announced he would be stepping down from his position on the U.S. Supreme Court when the current term ended June 30. That was Breyer's last day on the bench, as...

Wisconsin's Supreme Court decided conservationists haves no legal standing to challenge a land swap between the DNR and Kohler Co.

Democrats have been trying to woo Sen. Joe Manchin back to the table for months while also seeking to pass a major bipartisan piece of Biden's agenda.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and other left-leaning groups say the message polls well nationally and in battleground states.

The Biden administration is playing pro-choice in the streets and spineless in the sheets when it comes to women's rights — and somehow, Mitch McConnell is somehow behind all of it

A new decision "continues to underscore the erosion of democratic institutions at the hands of Republicans in this state," Gov. Tony Evers said.

The rule was initially implemented to help travelers navigate delays in passport processing due to the pandemic.

While Democrats are secretly searching in the background for a 2024 candidate that isn't Biden, the administration is still set on the president being the only one to defeat Trump.

A demonstrator outside the Supreme Court building expresses fear that other precedents will fall, too. AP Photo/Jose Luis MaganaIt is a central principle of law: Courts, including the Supreme Court, are supposed to follow earlier decisions – precedent – to resolve current disputes. But on rare occasions, Supreme Court justices conclude that one of the court’s past constitutional precedents has to go, so they overrule it. This is exactly what happened in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organizati

Vermont U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, 81, will undergo emergency hip surgery after falling Wednesday night, depriving his fellow Democrats of any majority in the chamber until he returns. Leahy, who is third in line to the U.S. presidency given his role as Senate president pro tempore, broke his hip at his house in the northern Virginia suburbs outside Washington, his office said on Thursday, adding that he is expected to make a full recovery. While Leahy has said he will not seek re-election in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, his vote is critical in the 50-50 split Senate where Democratic U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris holds the tie-breaking vote.

The Supreme Court on Thursday handed down a major ruling that narrowed the EPA's power to combat climate change.

Discussion about codifying Roe v. Wade's protections has dominated conversation among abortion rights advocates. Here's the definition of 'codify.'

‘We wish the state attorney general well in his ongoing effort to become the most popular Eric in the campaign for U.S. Senate,’ Lucas said.

Gov. John Carney questioned how McGuiness could stay in office – but he did not directly call for her resignation or removal from office.

A new petition has more than 700,000 signatures.

U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell submitted a notification in late June that she would take senior status. The move would allow for Chad Meredith, a conservative attorney from Western Kentucky, to be nominated to take her spot.

Judges would be required to notify parents if their child seeks an abortion through the judicial system in most cases if the injunction is overturned.

New York's Legislature is back in session Thursday to hammer out new gun restrictions in response to a Supreme Court ruling last week. What to know