NYSPFFA President Michael McManus, left, today received an invitation to visit Ukraine in April and the nation commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Ukraine retired firefighter Andrii Kovalenko, center, visited Albany with his family to make the formal invitation on behalf of the charity hosting the events. NYSPFFA Secretary Treasurer Sam Fresina is pictured on the right.
New York state was selected to attend the events because immediately after the tragedy firefighters from Schenectady sent a plaque to honor the victims, first responders and survivors. Several dozen Ukraine firefighters posed with plaque in the weeks that followed. Kovalenko, who was among the first responders at Chernobyl, also delivered a copy of that photo to McManus and Fresina.